Judge puts brakes on cuts to FEMA grants for New York, other blue states

A federal judge has temporarily barred the Trump administration from cutting hundreds of millions of dollars in police and counterterrorism funding for New York and other Democratic-led states.

Eleven states plus the District of Columbia sued on Monday over what New York State Attorney General Letitia James’ office said in a release was an "illegal" reallocation of Federal Emergency Management Agency funding from states that "refused to support the administration’s mass deportation agenda."

Judge Mary Susan McElroy in Rhode Island granted the states' motion for a temporary restraining order Tuesday afternoon. McElroy ordered Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to rescind the 2025 Homeland Security Grant Program award notifications and ordered her not to reallocate any grant funds appropriated by Congress.

For the plaintiffs

The state attorneys general, she wrote, had established "a strong likelihood of success on the merits, irreparable harm, and that the balance of equities and public interest favor the Plaintiffs."

The parties are scheduled to meet by Friday, according to a docket listing for the case. 

In an interview Tuesday, Jackie Bray, commissioner of the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, said cuts to the federal grants would reduce funding that Nassau, Suffolk and New York City have used for police K-9 units, tactical teams and active shooter drills, along with the counties’ bomb squads and license plate readers in Nassau.

"They will make our region and our state less safe," Bray said. Officials with DHS, the parent department for FEMA, did not respond to an emailed request for comment. 

In a news release, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office said statewide cuts totaled $187 million, or 86% of all counterterrorism and federal Homeland Security funding to New York in 2024. Cuts include grants from the Urban Area Security Initiative, which FEMA on its website says "provides funding to enhance regional preparedness and capabilities in designated high-threat, high-density areas."

Cuts in Nassau, Suffolk

Nassau and Suffolk each received $2.3 million last year through that program; if the cuts are proportional, those amounts would be reduced to about $326,000. According to the release, cuts would also be made to the State Homeland Security Program, which FEMA on its website says "provides funding to support the implementation of risk-driven, capabilities-based State Homeland Security Strategies to address capability targets."

Nassau received $1.8 million last year, which will be cut to about $172,000 in 2025 if the Trump administration's plan eventually moves forward. Suffolk, which received $1.2 million, would see a cut to about $112,000.

New York City would face a much greater hit, including $100 million in cuts to the NYPD and $15 million to the FDNY, according to the release. An NYPD spokesperson said in an email the department actually stands to lose $79 million, but the loss would still be a "devastating blow to our capabilities and our efforts to protect all Americans from terrorist attacks. This decision is incredibly dangerous and will leave us exposed at a moment when our threat environment needs us more than ever."

Since Sept. 11, 2001, the spokesperson continued, the city has faced "70 terrorism plots and attacks ... we have surfaced and flagged dozens of threats to jurisdictions across the country and overseas."

Even deeper cuts

Bray said state officials had been told in August to expect a cut of $87 million, but they learned only last Saturday the funding reduction would be more than double that. Bray said federal officials had told her in August the funding was "based on a formula." She said the formula for one of the grants apportioned $14 million to upstate Charlotte, a city of less than 1 million residents, and $22 million to the metropolitan area, where the population in New York City alone is 8.5 million.

"Tell me if that makes sense," she said.

Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport), chairman of the powerful House Homeland Security Committee, said in an statement Wednesday he was "concerned that abrupt and drastic cuts to vital DHS programs like the Urban Area Security Initiative will undermine our capabilities, embolden our enemies, and ultimately increase the danger facing our communities."

New York City remains a top terror target, he said. 

Spokespersons for Suffolk, Nassau and New York City did not respond to requests for comment.

In an emailed statement, Rep. Nick LaLota (R-Amityville) said of Hochul: "America’s Worst Governor can’t have it both ways — pushing a shutdown while expecting Washington to bankroll New York. And she certainly can’t push reckless sanctuary policies, back a defund-the-police mayoral candidate, and then stick federal taxpayers with the bill for the chaos she created."