Emmer Leads Minnesota Republican Delegation in Opposing Federal Funding of Transit Lines

WASHINGTON - On March 27, 2026, Congressman Emmer led the Minnesota Republican delegation in sending a letter to the leadership of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development (THUD) on eliminating federal funding for the Blue Line Light Rail Extension (Blue Line) and the Northern Lights Express (NLX). These are two unnecessary financial burdens that would be a complete misuse of taxpayer funds.

"These transportation projects are not only unpopular, but also unsuccessful and a waste of taxpayer dollars," said Congressman Emmer."Minnesotans have real needs when it comes to transportation, but projects like these take funding away from projects that will improve road safety, decrease traffic, and keep up with Minnesota's growing communities. We are committed to spending our tax dollars responsibly and making sure they go toward projects that will better Minnesota."

Background

Congressman Emmer and the rest of Minnesota's Republican delegation are committed to ensuring that taxpayer dollars are used responsibly. The combination of nominal ridership and huge capital cost makes these projects an irresponsible use of taxpayer funds.

The Blue Line Light Rail Extension project, with a projected budget of $3.2 billion, has seen weekly ridership expectations continuously revised downward. For example, on the current Blue Line plans, the projected number of weekday riders was 27,000, but updated projections are less than half of that, at just 12,500. The project is expected to go over budget and its construction will cause serious traffic disruptions for Minnesota motorists.

The Northern Lights Express commuter line, as proposed, would run from Duluth to St. Paul. With a price tag of $600 million, Minnesota taxpayers will be on the hook for significant costs. So far, $116 million of tax dollars have been allocated for this project. With the large balance remaining, the project will rely heavily on federal grants for its completion.

Congressman Emmer led Minnesota's Republican delegation in sending a similar letterin May of 2025, requesting that the THUD Subcommittee provide no funding for three transit projects, the Blue Line, the NLX, and the Northstar Commuter Rail. Eight months after the letter, the Northstar Commuter Rail project died.

You can read this most recent letter in its entirety here.

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