NY Gov. Hochul: Governors Will Not ‘Sit Idly By’ and Let Trump Attack Our RightsPam Key 23 Feb 2025
Governor Kathy Hochul (D-NY) said Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation” that Democratic governors would not sit idly by while the Trump administration attacked their rights.
Partial transcript as follows:
MARGARET BRENNAN: We turn now to Trump’s clash with Democratic governors. Joining us now from Albany, New York, is the governor, Kathy Hochul, good morning to you, Governor.
GOV. KATHY HOCHUL: Good morning.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I know you were just here in Washington and you met privately with President Trump. In the past, you’ve said the relationship doesn’t have to be adversarial. Was your meeting with him adversarial? And what was your top message?
GOV. HOCHUL: It was an adversarial meeting, but I was very clear, especially after I found that the Trump administration had ended a program that was put in place, congestion pricing, by the duly elected members of our legislature representing the voice of the people, and with a tweet, he claims that he is the king, and therefore he has the power to destroy it. And I have a problem with that characterization, because we labored under a king 250 years ago, and as I said, we’re not going back there. So I wanted to take my case to him directly and let him see the benefits of this program, because our city is paralyzed with gridlock, and we had a path forward to be able to make the city move again, and it’s working. I wanted to just have that opportunity to convey that, but I don’t know that we’re very persuasive on that front, but that’s okay. The people in my state need to know I’m willing to take the fight wherever I have to.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So just to explain for our audience, congestion pricing, you’re talking about this $9 toll you put on people driving into lower Manhattan, below 60th Street. Your fellow Democrat, Phil Murphy of New Jersey, says he doesn’t like this policy, actually asked President Trump to stop it. President Trump’s office says this is discriminatory against working class people. How do you respond to that?
GOV. HOCHUL: I respond this way with all due respect to the state of New Jersey. They do not tell us in New York what to do, nor does Washington when it comes to policies that we believe are going to reduce congestion. Move along vehicles, emergency vehicles are moving faster. Air quality is improving. So I have arguments that are important, but no one else should be able to second guess us, because that’s not how our system of laws and states was set up. I’m the Governor of New York. I will deal with the internal issues before me without interference from New Jersey or indeed, the federal government.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So this is going to the courts.
more
https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2025/02/23/ny-gov-hochul-governors-will-not-sit-idly-by-and-let-trump-attack-our-rights/
