Federal Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has explicitly called for renaming New York’s Penn Station as part of the federal government’s ongoing efforts to rebuild the nation’s busiest rail hub. In a letter sent Wednesday to key Senate committee leaders, Duffy outlined several priorities related to the project, including a directive to Amtrak to change the station’s name.
Penn Station, originally named after the Pennsylvania Railroad—the company that constructed and operated the facility from its opening in 1910 until its 1968 merger with New York Central—has long stood as a central transportation landmark in Manhattan. Duffy’s letter, however, does not specify what the new name would be. The possibility of renaming Penn Station for former President Donald J. Trump, a New York native, has been widely speculated since the federal takeover of the station’s redesign last year.
Duffy initially hinted at the idea last August when he responded to a question about the station’s future name by saying, “I think that has a nice ring to it” in reference to “Trump Station.” This followed earlier efforts by Trump himself, who reportedly attempted to leverage federal funding for the Hudson River Tunnel project by tying its release to naming rights for both Penn Station and Dulles Airport. Those funds were ultimately restored through a court order.
The proposal to rename Penn Station has drawn sharp criticism from local elected officials. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer urged Duffy to “stop scheming to flatter the president” and focus on delivering a “safe, modern station New Yorkers deserve.” Schumer emphasized that the station’s reconstruction must prioritize the millions of daily commuters rather than serve as a “monument” to Trump.
Similarly, Representative Jerry Nadler, whose Manhattan district includes Penn Station, condemned the move. He highlighted the absence of a disclosed funding plan for the estimated $7 billion to $8 billion project and warned against saddling New York taxpayers and transit users with a “Trump vanity project.”
Beyond the station renaming, Duffy’s letter contained additional transit policy proposals. He requested congressional authority to condition federal funds on transit agencies’ progress in reducing fare evasion, passenger assaults, and assaults on transit workers—a move widely regarded as targeting the New York City subway system amid longstanding concerns about safety.
Duffy also called for restricting federal grants for bicycle infrastructure projects that reduce automobile traffic capacity and suggested removing certain existing bike lanes deemed to contribute to congestion. In a related recommendation, he proposed eliminating the Mass Transit Account, the federal fuel tax revenue stream dedicated to public transportation funding.
The demand to rename Penn Station comes amid broader efforts by the Trump administration to imprint the former president’s name on national landmarks and projects. These include recent issuance of $1 commemorative coins bearing Trump’s image, attempts to rename Washington’s John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and the renaming of Palm Beach International Airport in Florida after Trump, who now resides in the state.
As the federal government moves forward with the Penn Station redevelopment, the question of its naming remains a contentious topic, reflecting broader debates over infrastructure priorities and political legacy.