Trump reportedly offered to release $16 bln for Gateway project in exchange for renaming airports

Former U.S. President Donald Trump last month told Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer he was willing to lift his freeze on billions of dollars in funding for the New York-New Jersey Gateway infrastructure project, two sources familiar with the conversation said.

Trump’s condition was that Schumer agree to rename New York’s Penn Station and Washington’s Dulles International Airport after him. Schumer rejected the proposal, saying he did not have the authority to approve such a request.

Since then, Trump has continued to withhold more than $16 billion allocated for the long-planned rail tunnel beneath the Hudson River connecting New York and New Jersey.