Could President Donald Trump’s name soon appear on one of New York City’s most recognizable — and often criticized — landmarks? The Republican administration is pushing for it.
Earlier this week, the administration called on leading U.S. senators to approve a name change for Penn Station as part of a sweeping $8 billion renovation of the underground Manhattan transit hub — the busiest rail station in the western hemisphere.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy sent a letter Wednesday requesting congressional approval for funding the overhaul and other major transportation priorities. However, the letter did not specify what the new name should be. Spokespersons for the transportation agency shared the letter but declined to answer follow-up questions on Thursday.
Duffy has been open about his enthusiasm for putting his boss’s name on the station. Speaking last summer while officials were seeking bids for a master developer on the project, the former Wisconsin congressman said: “I imagine you’re asking, ‘Is this going to be Trump Station?’ I think that has a nice ring to it.”
When Trump spokesperson Karoline Leavitt was asked about the idea earlier this year, her response was brief: “Why not?”
During his second term, Trump has pursued a number of public works projects aimed at cementing his legacy — including a large new White House ballroom, a triumphal arch, and an unsuccessful effort to rename the Kennedy Center. Earlier this month, a Florida airport in Palm Beach was officially renamed the President Donald J. Trump International Airport.
Trump himself has acknowledged that renaming Penn Station came up in conversations with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, but he denied being the one to suggest it as part of a deal to unfreeze federal funding for the Gateway project — a major rail tunnel connecting Penn Station to New Jersey under the Hudson River.
“Chuck Schumer suggested that to me, about changing the name of Penn Station to Trump Station,” Trump said earlier this year while aboard Air Force One.
He also took to his Truth Social platform to argue that naming such a prominent New York landmark after another state never made much sense. “I LOVE Pennsylvania, but it is a direct competitor to New York, and ‘eating New York’s lunch!’” he wrote, adding that the renaming idea was “brought up by certain politicians and construction union heads, not me.”
New York’s Pennsylvania Station — along with a few other stations across the country — takes its name from the Pennsylvania Railroad, the now-defunct passenger rail company that originally constructed the midtown Manhattan station.
When the station opened in 1910, it was celebrated as an architectural masterpiece in the Beaux Arts style, featuring towering Roman-style columns and a grand waiting area. That original structure was demolished in 1963 to make room for Madison Square Garden, leaving commuters to navigate tight corridors and dim platforms beneath the arena.
Recently unveiled design renderings envision a return to the station’s original classical grandeur, featuring a stone exterior, rows of columns, and a soaring concourse ceiling. One interior wall in the renderings displays Trump’s seal and name.
U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler, a Manhattan Democrat, blasted the move, saying Duffy’s letter reveals that the Trump administration is “waging a hostile takeover of Penn Station” and trying to “strip control” away from local authorities.
“I strongly oppose this ridiculous proposal and am once again demanding answers on the funding,” Nadler wrote on X. “New York taxpayers and transit riders must not be forced to foot the bill for a Trump vanity project.”
A local transit advocacy group, the Riders Alliance, called the renaming push “another huge red flag” that the project could devolve into “another multibillion dollar vanity boondoggle.” Spokesperson Danny Pearlstein said in a statement: “We should be talking about improving service, saving time and money, not monuments, ribbon cuttings or nameplates.”
The Trump administration directed Amtrak, the national passenger rail service, to take over management of the massive redesign project last year. For years, the Penn Station overhaul had been stalled by political disputes among the local transit agencies that operate out of the station.
Billionaire James Dolan, owner of the NBA’s New York Knicks and NHL’s New York Rangers, has also been a vocal opponent of any plans to move Madison Square Garden from its current location. The latest plans would preserve the arena — where Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce were married earlier this month — while demolishing a theater on the property.
Amtrak spokespersons directed questions to the federal transportation department. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority and New Jersey Transit, both of which run trains through the station, had not yet responded to requests for comment.
