With Funding Deadline Near, Local Lawmakers Say They'll Seek A Tunnel Deal With Trump

New York and New Jersey House Republicans say that if they want nearly $1 billion included in a Congressional spending bill, they'll have to convince President Donald Trump.

Trump has told House leadership that he opposes money for the project, a down payment on a $13 billion tunnel to replace the current, failing Hudson River train tunnel. 

“We gotta do a further full court press with Trump himself," said Rep. Chris Smith, who represents portions of Mercer, Monmouth and Ocean counties. 

The threat of a veto — which would likely mean a government shutdown — has left the tunnel funding in limbo as House and Senate leaders work out a final bill with the White House. The House, led by New Jersey Republican Rodney Frelinghuysen, the Appropriations chairman, included the money in the spending bill it passed. The Senate did not.

New Jersey and New York Republicans met with House Speaker Paul Ryan Wednesday, concerned the Speaker might change his mind about the project.

New Jersey Republican Leonard Lance said Ryan told them he didn't object to the tunnel funding.

"I don’t want to declare victory yet," Lance said. "And I would characterize it as, the Speaker does not object to having that provision in the bill — a provision that we vigorously favor.”

Smith agreed. "At this point he will do nothing to block it," he said.

But not everyone at the meeting left with the same impression. Long Island Republican Peter King said Ryan told the group he would oppose the funding if a Trump veto loomed.

“[Ryan] said if we can find a way to do it that the president will accept, he has no opposition to it at all,” King told Politico. “But he doesn’t want to pass a bill that the president is going to veto.”

But Smith and Lance agreed that convincing Trump was key — even if just meant convincing Trump to hold his nose and sign the spending bill.

"My hope would be that he says, ‘I may not like it as the President, but I’ll sign it anyway,'" Smith said.

They don't have much time to convince Trump. Funding runs out on March 23. Lawmakers expect to release the final compromise bill this weekend.