President Donald Trump is reportedly considering unfreezing billions of dollars for a critical New York infrastructure project, on two conditions—both Washington Dulles International Airport (KIAD) and Penn Station must be named after him.
This was the deal offered by the White House to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer last month, according to a report from Punchbowl News. Schumer turned down the offer and told Trump he doesn’t have the power to rename the two sites, sources with knowledge of the matter told the news website.
The president is withholding over $16 billion intended for the Gateway project, which is expanding rail connections between New York and New Jersey. The effort involves building rail bridges in northern New Jersey, digging new tunnels under the Hudson River, and rehabilitating an existing tunnel.
New York and New Jersey have sued the Trump administration over the funding freeze.
The president has a history of affixing his name to real estate projects, and the habit has carried into his time in office. Late last year, he controversially added his name to the Kennedy Center and the United States Institute of Peace, both in Washington, D.C.
Some Republicans in Congress have backed a bill to rename Dulles the Donald J. Trump International Airport, but the measure has not advanced since its introduction and appears to have little momentum.
It is unlikely that Schumer or any lawmaker could rename Dulles or Penn Station short of an act of Congress.
Dulles is operated by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, and Penn Station is owned by Amtrak.
The administration’s focus on Dulles goes beyond its name. In December, the U.S. Department of Transportation began soliciting plans for a potential reconstruction of the airport’s terminals and concourses.
The request for information criticized the airport’s limited capacity, dated appearance, and reliance on “mobile lounges” to ferry passengers to and from certain runways.
“In short, Washington Dulles International Airport is no longer an airport suitable and grand enough for the capital of the United States of America,” the request stated.
The language echoed comments from Trump himself. He has called the airport “terrible” and said he wants to fix it.
Dulles has used bus-like mobile lounges to connect passengers to their flights since the airport’s opening in 1962. While once considered innovative, they are now seen as outdated, especially since the opening of the underground AeroTrain system in 2010. Still, the airport continues to rely on mobile lounges to transport international arrivals and connect some terminals.
