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Ahead of the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul accused President Donald Trump’s Department of Homeland Security of “withholding” millions of dollars in counterterrorism funding.
“The Department of Homeland Security, the agency created in response to 9/11, is withholding 40% of New York State’s counterterrorism funding,” Hochul asserted during a press conference on Tuesday.
“That 40% adds up to $87 million dollars,” she said.
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New York Gov. Kathy Hochul listens as New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks during the annual New York State Financial Control Board meeting on Aug. 12, 2026, in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
The Democratic governor accused the president of “defunding the police” and said that he is “endangering public safety to yet again extract revenge on a blue state.”
“Don’t play political games with people’s lives. Release the $87 million dollars you owe us,” Hochul said, directing her words towards the president.
“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,” she said.
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President Donald Trump looks on during an announcement on Healthcare Affordability in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 31, 2026. (Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images)
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and the DHS on Tuesday.
Mamdani declared that “the federal government’s refusal to provide $87 million dollars in critical public safety and emergency readiness funding that was promised is so unacceptable.”
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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks during a press conference following a fatal stabbing incident in Times Square near West 42nd Street and Seventh Avenue in Manhattan, New York, on Aug. 31, 2026. (Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images)
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“We are talking about the money needed to fully fund 12 bomb squads across New York. 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. 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. 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.
