Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) butted heads on Wednesday over the safety of the New York City subway system and the accuracy of crime data statistics.<\/p>\n
In testimony before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Duffy warned Nadler not to call him a liar after the congressman said Duffy has \u201cmisrepresented\u201d the facts from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), which is responsible for the subways in New York.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs recently as last week, you again attacked the MTA, claiming that there\u2019s a surge in subway assaults and accusing the agency of withholding information,\u201d Nadler said at the hearing. \u201cBut many of your statements misrepresent the facts and ignore documentation already provided to your department. I want to address some of those claims directly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst, 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?\u201d Nadler asked.<\/p>\n
Duffy told Nadler those statistics were wrong and that MTA systems have seen a 60 percent increase in assaults since 2019.<\/p>\n
Nadler countered: \u201cWhy do you continue to ignore this and lie about this in your public comments?\u201d<\/p>\n
Duffy pushed back, asking why Nadler continues \u201cto lie about people being lit on fire in subways or pushed in front of trains?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou should be fighting to make sure your subways are safe,\u201d Duffy said. \u201cIf you want people to ride subways, let\u2019s make subways safe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOur subways are safe, and I gave you these statistics,\u201d Nadler added.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re wrong,\u201d Duffy said.<\/p>\n