OAN Staff Blake Wolf
2:26 PM – Thursday, July 17, 2025
Donald Trump’s Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy got into a recent spat with New York Democrat Rep. Jerry Nadler over the safety of New York City’s subway system.
The public feud came during a House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, in which Nadler (D-N.Y.) accused Duffy of “misrepresenting” facts from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA).
The hearing was intended to review the Trump administration’s proposed 2026 transportation budget, though it quickly devolved into a heated debate.
“As recently as last week, you again attacked the MTA, claiming that there’s a surge in subway assaults and accusing the agency of withholding information,” Nadler stated. “But many of your statements misrepresent the facts and ignore documentation already provided to your department. I want to address some of those claims directly.”
“First, are you aware that major crime in the transit system, including assaults, is down 3 percent since last year and down 8 percent since 2019?” he continued.
Duffy clapped back, arguing that the statistics Nadler was citing were “false,” and that the MTA has actually seen a 60% increase since 2019.
Nadler quickly interjected, ignoring Duffy’s assertion while responding: ”Why do you continue to ignore this and lie about this in your public comments?”
”Why do you continue to ignore this and lie about people being lit on fire in subways or pushed in front of trains?” Duffy swatted back. “You should be fighting to make sure your subways are safe. If you want people to ride subways, let’s make subways safe.
“Our subways are safe, and I gave you these statistics,” Nadler responded. “Secretary Duffy, why do you continue to lie about New York City?”
“They’re wrong,” Duffy added. “You’re lying. Don’t call me a liar here.”
Duffy referenced an attack last December where a Guatemalan illegal alien lit an American woman on fire in a NYC subway car, resulting in her death.
“MTA giving USDOT the runaround when New York City grapples with a dramatic uptick in subway assaults is unacceptable,” said Duffy in a Federal Transit Administration press briefing. “The innocent victims of these horrific crimes and the daily commuters who live in fear of violence deserve better. The MTA should provide us with the information we need to assess the gaps in their security strategy and safety protocols. It’s time we restore order on New York’s transit systems — lives are stake.”
According to the July 7th briefing, TA is now responding demanding specifics including:
- What criteria have NYCT established to select safety risk mitigations that have the highest probability of reducing safety risk
- What metrics has the agency established to measure effectiveness of safety risk mitigations once they have been implemented
- What percentage of cameras are in working order and how long recordings are maintained
- Whether the agency is considering revising rolling stock design requirements to require all new train cars to be equipped with open gangways that prevent access to the outside of train cars.
There have been a total of 262 felony assaults recorded in NYC’s subway systems through May of this year.
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