Botched filing reveals Justice Department's skepticism of congestion pricing suit

• The official White House account on X gave President Trump credit for killing the congestion pricing program in February, proclaiming "CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!"

Zoom in: The erroneously filed letter, dated April 11, said there is "considerable litigation risk" in defending Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy's rationale to end the program.

• It is "unlikely" the judge or other courts will accept an argument that questions the legality of the program, the three assistant U.S. attorneys on the case wrote in the 11-page letter.
• The case would be stronger, they wrote, if they argued that the federal government wants to rescind its approval of the program "as a matter of changed agency priorities."

The Manhattan U.S. attorney's office and the Department of Transportation did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.

Catch up quick: New York City's Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) sued the Department of Transportation in February after Trump administration rescinded federal approval for the city's congestion pricing program.

• If the program is overturned, billions fewer dollars will go toward improving the city's public transit infrastructure.

Go deeper: Trump admin moves to halt NYC congestion pricing