Trump Wants to Control South Station. Local Leaders Aren’t on Board.

The Trump administration has set its eyes on Boston’s South Station, hinting at a federal takeover similar to Union Station in Washington, D.C. But federal officials face an uphill battle to control the state-run transportation hub.

Steven G. Bradbury, the U.S. Deputy Director of Transportation, visited South Station last weekend, where he suggested the administration may seize control of the station.

"We need to address the stations along the Northeast Corridor," Bradbury said. "Similarly, here in South Boston we need to address the cleanliness, the crime, the safety and security of the station for the rail workers, for the passengers, because the people of Boston deserve that."

The statement came the same day that the federal government took control of D.C.’s Union Station — the next phase of the Trump administration’s “beautification” of D.C. Since deploying the National Guard to patrol the city in August, rates of violent crime are down, though crime rates had been decreasing consistently since 2023.

Unlike Union Station, which is owned by the Department of Transportation, South Station is owned by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. This means that the federal government lacks the authority to take control of the station — a fact that local leaders have stressed since Bradbury’s statement.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu ’07 strongly rejected the possibility of a takeover in a statement to reporters on Thursday.

“This is not a game of authoritarian monopoly,” Wu said. “This is a government with laws and a constitution that clearly shows who is in control of what.”

“South Station is not the property of the federal government, and there’s no legal way for anything like that to happen,” she added.

Vehicles pass by South Station in Boston. Though the transit hub is owned by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, the Trump administration has suggested seizing control. By Frank S. Zhou

Threats of federal interference in South Station is not Boston’s first run-in with the Trump administration. Federal officials have repeatedly targeted the city for its sanctuary city policies, calling on Wu to testify before Congress last March.

Attorney General Pam Bondi sent a letter two weeks ago threatening to prosecute city officials and withhold federal grants and contracts unless Boston agrees to carry out mass deportations. Wu condemned Bondi’s statement, and she has repeatedly stated her reluctance to comply with the demands.

“This federal administration’s false and continuous attacks on American cities and millions of our residents are unprecedented,” Wu wrote in her response letter to Bondi.

“The Trump Administration seeks to divide, isolate, and intimidate our cities, and make Americans fearful of one another,” she added.

The Department of Homeland Security has threatened to withhold funding from 200 cities — including Boston — that have been flagged for sanctuary city policies. Cambridge was previously named on the same list, but has since been quietly removed. A lawsuit is pending against the DHS, in which Cambridge has been added as a plaintiff.

Wu has made clear that Boston has and will continue to work with federal law enforcement.

“Our City’s longstanding and productive partnership with state and federal law enforcement to protect the people of Boston far predates your tenure,” she wrote to Bondi.

But despite promises of continued collaboration, Wu has made it clear that the city will not yield its autonomy to the Trump administration.

“The United States Constitution establishes that local governments, closest to the people, hold the authority to enact public safety policies without the threat of unlawful interference from the federal government,” she wrote.

—Staff writer Megan L. Blonigen can be reached at megan.blonigen@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X at @MeganBlonigen.