Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday complained President Donald Trump has failed to fulfill an 11-month-old promise to restore millions in federal funding to New York’s homeland security operations.
Trump said on Truth Social last year he had reversed cuts that took New York’s federal counterterrorism budget from $287 million down to $30 million, but Hochul said Tuesday New York was still $87 million short.
“Shame on you for withholding this money, not delivering it to me right now, 10 days before we honor those lives that were lost on 9/11,” Hochul said during a news conference at her Midtown office. “Let me translate that in real simple terms: Donald Trump is defunding the police.”
The money supports counterterrorism efforts including cybersecurity operations, K-9 teams, bomb squads and the National Guard, according to Terrence O’Leary, commissioner of the state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services.
“Terror is an international issue. It is something where the threat can originate anywhere,” O’Leary said. “However, it is crystal clear that responders are here in New York.”
A spokesperson for FEMA said New York has not spent all of the federal money already allocated to New York for homeland security operations.
“Governor Hochul is manufacturing a funding crisis despite New York sitting on more than $300 million in UNSPENT federal homeland security funding,” the spokesperson said.
O’Leary even pointed to major events held in New York this summer, saying they were able to proceed safely.
“Our first responders did the work and made sure that everyone could enjoy it,” O’Leary said. “The federal portion of that was funding. Their funding is key for first responders here in New York state.”
Mamdani, standing alongside Hochul, still claimed the remaining money is desperately needed for emergency preparedness.
“We are talking about the money needed to fully fund 12 bomb squads across New York,” Mamdani said. “We are talking about the money needed to ensure that in the event of a catastrophic attack, the FDNY can communicate internally and respond effectively.”
Mamdani also said New Yorkers would be safer from harmful radiation if protected with homeland security funding.
“And we are talking about making sure that should New Yorkers ever face a radiological threat, our first responders have the training, the equipment and the capabilities they need to respond,” he said. “To put it simply, there is no excuse for the federal government to leave the nation’s largest city to shoulder this burden alone,” he said.
The Trump administration cut New York’s federal homeland security and counterterrorism grant allocation by $187 million in September 2025.
A federal judge later ordered the Department of Homeland Security to revise the grant awards, and New York recovered about $100 million, according to Hochul’s office.
Trump said in an Oct. 3, 2025 Truth Social post that he had reversed the cuts.
“I am pleased to advise that I reversed the cuts made to Homeland Security and Counterterrorism for New York City and State,” Trump posted.
Hochul said she spoke with Trump when the cuts were first announced 11 months ago but has not spoken with him since. Instead, she said, her administration has been “backchanneling” through the Department of Homeland Security.
At Tuesday’s news conference, nearly a year later with the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks 10 days away, Hochul delivered a direct appeal to Trump — through television cameras.
“Here’s my message to the president,” Hochul said. “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.”
The Trump administration did not immediately respond to an inquiry from The Post.
