Trump Conditions $16B Gateway Tunnel Funding on Renaming Dulles Airport and Penn Station After Himself, Axios Reports
Axios reports that last month Trump officials offered to release the federal hold on $16 billion for the Gateway Tunnel Project only if Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer agreed to rename New York’s Penn Station and Washington Dulles International Airport after Donald Trump, a demand that prompted fury from Democrats. The offer was reportedly made in follow‑up conversations with Schumer’s team rather than during their Oval Office meeting, and comes as the project faces an indefinite shutdown Friday without the frozen funding and amid parallel talks over DHS and ICE reforms.
đź“Ś Key Facts
- Axios reported (Feb. 6, 2026) that last month Trump administration officials offered to release the federal hold on $16 billion for the Gateway Tunnel Project only if Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer agreed to rename New York’s Penn Station and Washington Dulles International Airport after Trump.
- According to Axios, the conditional renaming demand was conveyed in subsequent conversations between the administration and Schumer’s team and did not surface during the in‑person Oval Office meeting between Trump and Schumer.
- Axios says the $16 billion in federal funding for the Gateway Tunnel Project is currently frozen and that, without the release of those funds, the project is set to shut down indefinitely on Friday.
- The reported renaming demand is unfolding alongside parallel Trump–Schumer negotiations over Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reforms, Axios notes.
- Per Axios, the administration’s proposal effectively tied the release of high-profile infrastructure funding to renaming two major transportation hubs after Trump.
đź“° Source Timeline (3)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
February 10, 2026
February 06, 2026
2:56 AM
Inside Trump's push to rename Dulles and Penn Station after himself
New information:
- Axios reports that last month Trump officials offered to release the federal hold on $16 billion for the Gateway Tunnel Project only if Schumer agreed to rename New York’s Penn Station and Washington Dulles International Airport after Trump.
- The offer did not surface in the in‑person Oval Office meeting between Trump and Schumer but was conveyed in subsequent conversations between the administration and Schumer’s team about Gateway funding.
- Axios notes the $16 billion Gateway tunnel project is set to shut down indefinitely on Friday without the frozen federal funding, and that this demand is unfolding alongside parallel Trump–Schumer talks over DHS and ICE reforms.