Pallone Underscores Trump’s Cost-of-Living Crisis with Gateway Worker as Guest at State of the Union

Pallone with Healy before the 2026 State of the Union.

Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) will attend President Trump’s State of the Union address tonight with Derrick Healy, a New Jersey Gateway Tunnel construction worker and member of the Laborers’ International Union of North America who was forced off the job when the Trump Administration froze congressionally approved funding for the project.

The funding was released only after a federal judge ordered the Trump Administration to comply with the law, allowing construction to resume. Before that ruling, roughly 1,000 workers were sent home without pay, construction was halted, and one of the most critical infrastructure projects in the country was thrown into uncertainty. And while this portion of federal funding was released, the Trump Administration is continuing its appeal of the ruling that could put future Gateway funding and the paychecks of these workers in peril once again.

“Trump illegally froze funding for a project that supports thousands of New Jersey workers and forced families to wonder how they’d pay their bills,” Pallone said. “Derrick shouldn’t have needed a federal judge to get back to work. Gateway was on budget and on schedule until Trump decided to play politics with people’s livelihoods. I will keep fighting for the continued funding of this important project and do all I can to block the Trump administration’s efforts to halt it. If the President wants to talk about affordability tonight, he should start by explaining why he made it harder for working families to earn a paycheck in the first place.”

“Gateway is essential to our economy and to the hundreds of thousands of commuters who rely on this tunnel every day,” said Governor Sherrill. “Trump freezing this funding was illegal and it put New Jersey workers and their families in an impossible position. We went to court because the law matters and because these jobs matter. The court agreed and the funding is finally moving again, but workers should never have been forced into this uncertainty in the first place.”

“People who actually work for a living can’t afford the basics anymore. Trump promised more building, more manufacturing, and more jobs in America. What’s he actually done? Nothing but play political games, cause chaos with our paychecks, and make it harder for blue collar people to do their damn jobs. Thanks to pressure from union workers, Congressman Pallone, Governor Sherrill, and others in the delegation, the Gateway project is back on track. I’m proud to be Congressman Pallone’s guest at the State of the Union to help send a message: stop the games and lower the high cost of living,” said Healy.

The Gateway Tunnel project supports thousands of union jobs and is essential to the daily commute of more than 200,000 riders between New Jersey and New York. When funding was halted, the disruption not only jeopardized workers’ livelihoods but also risked serious delays and potential cost overruns for taxpayers on a project that had been on budget and on schedule.

Pallone said Healy’s presence underscored a broader message ahead of and following the address: affordability starts with a paycheck, and New Jersey workers should not need a court order just to get back to work.

Video of Pallone and Healy is available here.