Says Trump Is ‘Defunding the Police’
By Hank Russell
Governor Kathy Hochul said she is waiting for the Trump administration to pay the state the money they were promised for homeland security and counterterrorism funding. She made this announcement during a press conference in Brooklyn on September 1.
Hochul said that, last year, President Donald Trump cut critical counterterrorism and homeland security funding in New York State by 86%, or $187 million. Hochul made an appeal to Trump to restore the funding, which he promised to do. After nearly one year of waiting, Hochul said, the state is still owed $87 million to support intelligence operations, transit hub security, and equipment, training, and preparedness for sheriffs and police departments across the state.
“By holding this funding hostage, the Trump administration is defunding the police,” Hochul said. “New York State continues to be the nation’s number one terrorist target – and if President Trump and Secretary Mullin really care about public safety, they should stop playing games and fully fund our vital counterterrorism efforts.”
The funding, provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) through its Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP), supports local law enforcement and regional homeland security preparedness efforts, including intelligence operations, mass gathering security, planning, equipment purchases, and training critical to sustaining and improving community prevention, protection, response and recovery capabilities. HSGP was created in 2003 in the aftermath of 9/11 and comprises three separate grants –– the State Homeland Security Program (SHSP), the Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI) and Operation Stonegarden. Under SHSP and UASI, 80% of the funding is allocated to local entities while 20% is reserved for state projects. According to Hochul, New York State had both its SHSP and UASI allocations cut.
Following an extended delay in 2025, DHS released the 2025 Notice of Funding Opportunity for HSGP, giving states the ability to access this critical funding. However, despite being the nation’s number one terrorist target, New York’s allocation was cut by 40% ($87 million). Then, Hochul said, New York was inexplicably cut an additional $ 100 million when DHS issued the awards on September 27, 2025.
After Hochul persisted that Trump reinstate the funding, Trump announced he would reverse his decision. In his Truth Social post, Trump wrote that he was “…pleased to advise that [he] reversed the cuts made to Homeland Security and Counterterrorism for New York City and State. It was [his] Honor to do so. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Almost one year later, New York State has only received $100 million of the amount owed following an order by a federal judge, with nearly $87 million outstanding.
Specifically, access to the remaining $87 million would ensure full funding of:
- The NYPD’s intelligence analysts and counterterrorism unit
- The FDNY’s interoperable communication and radiological response capabilities
- Joint Task Force Empire Shield, which is responsible for the New York National Guard’s presence in transit hubs
- New York State’s 12 certified bomb squads
- Equipment purchases, training, exercises and preparedness efforts for counties, sheriffs and local police departments
This is not the first time Hochul has had to request these funds. As previously reported by Long Island Life & Politics, Hochul sent a letter to then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem demanding that her agency make funding available to state and local governments through the HSGP. The state has received funding every year since 2002.
In 2024, New York received $219.9 million in HSGP funding, $156.1 million of which was allocated through the UASI for jurisdictions in the New York City Metro Area, principally the New York Police Department, LILP previously reported. In 2023, New York received $244.7 million, with $173.9 million allocated through UASI.
“Governor Hochul has made record investments in the state’s emergency preparedness and counterterrorism efforts, but New York State cannot do this alone,” New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services Commissioner Terry O’Leary said. “Having a commitment from our federal partners to fight terrorism is critical when it comes to the state’s preparedness capabilities, and any further delay in fully funding these efforts is putting the safety and security of all New Yorkers at risk.”
Long Island Life & Politics reached out to the White House. They referred this reporter to the DHS.
“Governor Hochul is manufacturing a funding crisis despite New York sitting on more than $300 million in unspent federal homeland security funding,” a FEMA spokesperson said. “For more than two decades, New York has received substantial federal homeland security funding.”
The spokesperson pointed out New York has “traditionally received allocations significantly above risk-based formulas,” which meant the state was “rak[ing] in more and more money than other states.”
The spokesperson concluded, “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 New York City demanding even more taxpayer money when it has failed to spend hundreds of millions of dollars already provided to protect its communities?”