By Courtney Rozen
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -New York’s senior senator on Wednesday blasted the Trump administration’s plan to cut security funding for New York City, calling the decision “irresponsible and dangerous.”
The Federal Emergency Management Agency posted a notice of New York’s reduced grant online on Friday, just days after a gunman killed four people inside a Manhattan skyscraper.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, who represents New York, asked FEMA to reverse a $64-million cut to the city’s federal security funding, first reported by Reuters on Tuesday.
“Donald Trump treats NY like his personal punching bag in an attempt to settle political scores — and failing to release NY’s critical anti-terrorism funds is stooping to a new low,” he said in a statement.
The cut is part of the Trump administration’s transformation of FEMA, the federal agency charged with responding to disasters. The agency also distributes security funding to states and densely populated cities to “respond to acts of terrorism and other catastrophic events,” according to its website.
The Department of Homeland Security, FEMA’s parent agency, said in a statement it is encouraging cities to tap a separate pool of funding to cover security needs, known as the State Homeland Security Program. FEMA is also slashing New York’s funding from that program by 38% year-on-year, according to an August 1 notice. FEMA said in July it would not cut it, but reversed course.
FEMA did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the change.
FEMA also cut urban security funding for Washington, D.C., San Francisco, and Los Angeles, according to the August 1 notice. Washington saw the largest cut year-on-year at 44%. The Trump administration is also requiring states to spend part of their federal security funding on arresting migrants.
In New York City, Mayor Eric Adams is “committed to securing every federal dollar that New Yorkers deserve,” his spokesperson Liz Garcia said in a statement. The city spends the funding over several years, adding that the mayor’s office recently used part of its 2020 money, she said.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a Democrat from New York, said in a statement she would ask Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem about the funding cuts, adding that it is possible the agency is “risking New Yorkers’ safety as a political power move.”
(Reporting by Courtney RozenEditing by Rod Nickel)
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