A brewing fight between New York City leaders and federal authorities over subway safety boiled over on Capitol Hill this week.
Manhattan Rep. Jerry Nadler, during a hearing Wednesday, called U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy a “liar,” accusing him of mischaracterizing crime rates on the New York subway system. Duffy, in return, said Nadler was “lying.”
Since arriving at the U.S. Department of Transportation, Duffy has repeatedly railed against the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and state officials, including Gov. Kathy Hochul. He has cast the subway as dangerous and a terrible alternative for commuters looking to avoid congestion pricing — another prime target of the Trump White House.
For instance, in May, during an appearance on Fox Business, Duffy said, “You have criminals. It's homeless shelters, it's insane asylums, and it's a work ground for the criminal element of the city to prey upon the good people.”
In March, he said, “If you want people to take the train, take transit, then make it safe, make it clean, make it beautiful, make it wonderful. Don’t make it a s--thole.”
Data from the NYPD shows that transit crime declined 3% in the first of 2025 compared to the same time period last year. It is down by roughly 8% compared to 2019.
However, critics — including Duffy — have homed in on the rate of felony assaults, which rose from 158 in the first five months of 2019 to 262 in the first five months of this year, according to NYPD data.
That same data set, though, shows a sizable drop over the past two decades in the number of major felonies committed on average each day. In the first five months of 1997, the MTA system saw, on average, roughly 16 major felonies per day. By the first five months of 2025, there were fewer than six per day.
The MTA system moves millions of people each day.
Exchange between @RepJerryNadler and @SecDuffy on NYC Subway safety
— CSPAN (@cspan) July 16, 2025
Nadler: "Why do you continue ignore this and lie about this…?"
Duffy: "Why do you continue to lie about people being lit on fire in subways or pushed in front of trains?"
Nadler: "Our subways are safe." pic.twitter.com/BnOtJoQHHf
In an interview after the hearing, Nadler accused the Trump administration of seeking retribution against New York and called on Duffy to resign.
“Either he is totally ignorant or he's totally dishonest,” the congressman said. “Obviously we'd like crime to be zero, but with what we've done, the New York City subway system is the safest subway system in the country.”
In a statement, Danna Almeida, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Transportation said, “Jerry Nadler and Far Left New York Democrats are the reason New Yorkers are not safe on their own transit systems.” She accused him of propping up "criminals over victims," invoking comments Nadler made in an interview back in 2020, where he suggested the NYPD budget should be cut and funding reallocated to other services.
“He should be ashamed for his failure to stand up for hardworking New Yorkers who risk their safety sharing a metro that has seen the most heinous of crimes, from a woman being set on fire to a corpse being sexually assaulted,” she continued. “You can’t make this up, just like Nadler can’t avoid the truth.”
Spectrum News asked the Department of Transportation how many times Duffy has used the New York City subway in the past five years. They did not provide a number by deadline.
Duffy did join Mayor Eric Adams onboard during an event in April.
Nadler’s team said the congressman has been a longtime supporter and rider of the subway throughout his life.