Gov. Hochul demands Trump administration restore $87 million in counterterrorism funding to New York
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul says she is tired of waiting for the White House to restore tens of millions of dollars in counterterrorism funding to the state, a vow President Trump made nearly a year ago.
Joined at a news conference by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday, Gov. Hochul demanded the president release $87 million still owed to New York.
"Donald Trump is defunding the police, defunding the NYPD intelligence analysts who foil the attacks, defunding the brave members of FDNY who run into the fire while the rest of us are running out, defunding the National Guard, the units who protect the major transit hubs, defunding bomb squads, defunding police departments and sheriff's offices from Long Island to Westchester to Buffalo," Hochul said.
New York officials say the Trump administration without explanation slashed counterterrorism and homeland security funding in the state by 86%, or $187 million, last year. However, on Oct. 3, 2025, following intense pressure from many of the state's elected officials on both sides of the aisle, Mr. Trump took to social media and said he would restore all of it.
New York is still waiting for that funding, which it says it will use for intelligence operations, transit hub security, and the needs of law enforcement across the state.
"Here's my message to the president: don't undermine our public safety efforts," Hochul said. "Don't defund the police who thwart terror attacks. Don't play political games with people's lives. Release the $87 million you owe us, because if you don't release the counterterrorism funding, you're betraying every family that lost someone on 9/11. You're betraying every police officer and firefighter who puts their lives on the line every single day. And you're betraying every New Yorker who no longer believes that the federal government is there to protect them."
Mamdani said the funding is critical to New York City's security going forward.
"New York City is the greatest city in the world. And yet, because of what this city represents, we also know that it will always be a target," Mamdani said. "Our city has made enormous strides over the last 25 years, and yet we know that we live in a complex and fast-moving threat landscape. That is precisely why the federal government's refusal to provide $87 million in critical public safety and emergency readiness funding that was promised is so unacceptable."
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, New York's junior U.S. senator, echoed those sentiments, saying in a statement, in part, "President Trump is using New Yorkers as political pawns once again," adding, "New York is the leading terrorist target in the nation. As we approach the 25th anniversary of 9/11, defunding our law enforcement and counterterrorism operations is especially egregious and unsafe."
CBS News New York reached out to the White House for comment. It referred us to the Department of Homeland Security, which issued the following statement:
"Governor Hochul is manufacturing a funding crisis despite New York sitting on more than $300 million in UNSPENT federal homeland security funding. For more than two decades, New York has received substantial federal homeland security funding. In fact, they traditionally received allocations significantly ABOVE risk-based formulas, allowing them to rake in MORE and MORE money than other states," A Federal Emergency Management Agency spokesperson said. "Instead of falsely accusing President Trump of defunding law enforcement, Governor Hochul and Mayor Mamdani should answer a much simpler question: why is New York and NYC demanding even more taxpayer money when it has failed to spend hundreds of millions of dollars already provided to protect its communities?"