President Donald Trump said Friday he has personally reversed $187 million in funding cuts made by his administration for New York’s law enforcement and counterterrorism operations, following bipartisan outcry from New York officials.
The Republican announced the restoration of federal funding on Truth Social.
“I am pleased to advise that I reversed the cuts made to Homeland Security and Counterterrorism for New York City and State. It was my Honor to do so," he wrote. "Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
The reversal came after Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Monday railing against the cuts, saying they represented 86% of homeland security funding to the state, impacting the New York City police and fire departments, state police and other law enforcement agencies.
The cut would had slashed federal counterterrorism funding for the NYPD from $90 million to nearly $10 million, according to Commissioner Jessica Tisch, who on Wednesday called it “a devastating blow.” She called the city “the No. 1 terrorist target in the world.”
On Friday, Hochul credited political pushback from the state for the restoration of funds.
“From the moment these devastating cuts were announced, I made it clear that New York would not stand by while our law enforcement and counterterrorism operations were defunded,” Hochul said in a statement. “I’m glad President Trump heard our call and reversed course, ensuring our state has the resources necessary to support law enforcement and keep our families safe.”
Republican U.S. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, the only Republican representing New York City in Congress, said she had spoken with Trump about the cuts, which she called a “terrible idea."
“New York remains the nation's top terror target, and cutting this funding was never acceptable,” she said in a statement.
Another Republican, U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler, who represents the Hudson Valley region, said the cuts were “unacceptable and posed a direct threat to the safety of New Yorkers.” He said he also worked to have the reductions reversed.
“New York remains the number one target for terrorism, and we cannot let politics put lives at risk,” he said in a statement.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency, which awards homeland security grants under DHS, did not respond to a request for comment regarding the reversal of New York’s funds.
A FEMA email announcing the grant allocations Monday said that “recipients of grants will no longer be permitted to use federal funds to house illegal immigrants at luxury hotels, fund climate change pet projects, or empower radical organizations with unseemly ties that don’t serve the interest of the American people.”
The reversal is just one example of states' recent confusion and upset related to emergency preparedness funding.
FEMA awards billions in emergency management and homeland security grants annually to states, tribes and territories. But notices of funding opportunities this year arrived two months later than usual, and allocations were not made until just days before the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30.
The final allocations were vastly different from what some jurisdictions expected. Homeland Security grants for New York and Illinois were 79% and 69% less than anticipated, while some U.S. territories got more than twice the expected amount for certain grants.
New rules also sowed confusion: Grantees only have one year to spend the dollars instead of the usual three, and some grants now require submitting population counts that omit individuals removed under immigration laws.
On Monday, 11 states, including New York, and the District of Columbia sued the Trump administration over the discrepancies. A federal judge in Rhode Island issued a temporary restraining order the next day, forcing the Trump administration to issue the full grants.