The U.S. Department of Transportation has warned it could withhold up to 25 percent of federal transit funding from New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) over ongoing safety risks to maintenance workers.

On Tuesday, the department issued a final warning to city officials, urging the MTA to conduct a third risk assessment and implement measures to address hazards in its Roadway Worker Protection program.

“I am disturbed by MTA’s failure to reinforce safety measures following serious accidents — one resulting in the death of a transit worker,” said Marc Molinaro, head of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) under President Donald Trump.

The warning marks the latest point of contention between the Trump administration and New York officials, continuing a pattern of leveraging federal funding to enforce policy priorities.

Safety Concerns Stretch Back Years

The federal government’s concerns date to the Biden administration. In August 2024, the FTA issued a directive instructing the MTA, the nation’s largest transit system, to address an escalating pattern of worker safety incidents.

The directive followed the death of 57-year-old track worker Hilarion Joseph in November 2023, who was struck by a northbound D train while monitoring the rails during track cleaning. Another worker was seriously injured in June 2024.

Federal officials also noted a 58 percent rise in “near-misses” between 2022 and 2023 in the New York transit system.

Tuesday’s final warning set a 30-day deadline for the MTA to submit a new, comprehensive risk assessment. Failure to meet the deadline could result in “restrictions or prohibitions” to protect worker safety, as well as withholding 25 percent of federal transit funding.

“The New York MTA has a decades-old pattern of exposing workers to harm’s way,” said Transport Workers Union International President John Samuelsen. “It is vital that the Federal Transit Administration hold the MTA accountable. Lives are in the balance.”

Broader Tensions With Trump Administration

Worker safety is not the only point of friction between Trump officials and New York authorities. The administration has previously threatened to revoke or redirect federal funds over alleged crime and safety issues within the transit system.

In March, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy cited a “trend of violent crime, homelessness, and other threats to public safety” in the MTA, urging city officials to provide a detailed plan to reduce crime. These warnings came even as MTA data indicated crime was at its second-lowest level in 27 years, with major offenses down more than 18 percent in the first quarter of 2025.

The Trump administration has also opposed congestion pricing, a toll system designed to reduce Manhattan traffic. Earlier this year, Trump pledged to use the Department of Transportation to block the initiative, prompting Governor Kathy Hochul to decry the move as federal overreach. “New York hasn’t labored under a king in over 250 years, and we sure as hell are not going to start now,” Hochul said. A federal judge later temporarily blocked the administration from interfering with the program.

New York as an Election Battleground

New York remains a key political battleground for Trump and Republicans, especially ahead of the hotly contested 2026 midterms. Several districts in the state are considered swing areas, while the city itself will hold a high-profile mayoral race this November.

Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani has made free buses a central campaign plank, expanding a pilot program that temporarily offered no-fare routes in select neighborhoods from 2023 to 2024. Mamdani currently leads his closest rival, former Governor Andrew Cuomo, by 19 points according to an August Siena College poll. Cuomo has proposed shifting MTA control from the state to the city, arguing this would give the mayor greater oversight of transit operations.