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President Trump wanted Gov. Kathy Hochul to fire the boss of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority — even though he didn’t seem to know his name, sources told The Post.
Trump had suggested giving a pink slip to MTA CEO Janno Lieber after he went over Hochul’s head and sent a fiery letter to the feds bickering about an ongoing Penn Station reconstruction, the sources said.
A source described Lieber as “inflammatory” and said Trump “had heard about the difficulties” Lieber was causing over the project.
The president didn’t mention Lieber by name during the call.
But Lieber had an awkward response ready Wednesday after the New York Times first reported the nameless firing suggestion.
“I guess I’m not the president’s type, you know?” Lieber said after an MTA board meeting.
“I’m surprised by that ’cause I am a white guy in a tie, and I satisfy the Hegseth standard. I’m not a beardo or a weirdo.”
Lieber said he was “both surprised and a tiny bit hurt” by the president’s suggestion.
“I accept that, but I’m disappointed.”
The clash followed a whiny June letter Lieber sent to Amtrak executive Andy Byford, accusing federal officials of trying to cut the MTA out of decisions about the Penn Station overhaul.
“News flash: that’s not partnership, that’s just gamesmanship,” Lieber wrote, complaining that Byford’s own letter had reached the press before it reached him.
Lieber also dismissed discussion of an agreement as “all the blah-blah” and went on to question Byford over the project’s costs, funding and developer selection — even though Trump had already booted the MTA from leading the overhaul in April 2025 and put Amtrak in charge.
Hochul’s team hadn’t authorized Lieber’s letter, and the governor was unhappy with it, according to the report in the Times.
Hochul stuck by her man, declining Trump’s suggestion to fire the transit chief, a position appointed by the governor.
“I said, ‘We’re working together, so don’t worry about it,’” Hochul told the paper of what she said back to Trump on the call.
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The White House source suggested that Lieber still isn’t in the clear.
“I don’t think he’s gonna get fired immediately, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he was eventually pushed out,” the source said.
Asked what Hochul had said to him about the letter, Lieber kept leaning on the bizarre dating analogy.
“She said you’re not the president’s type,” he said.
