A federal judge on Thursday ordered the Trump administration to release nearly $34 million in counterterrorism and transit security funding for New York City’s subway and regional rail systems that it had been withholding. In the ruling, the judge described the withholding of funds as “arbitrary, capricious and a blatant violation of the law,” issuing a permanent injunction that requires the government to release the money to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, according to the New York Times. Last month, Gov. Kathy Hochul and State Attorney General Letitia James sued to restore the funding, which the MTA was slated to receive from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
During a joint press conference with James, Hochul called the actions of Republicans in Congress hypocritical and described the move as playing political games with the lives of New Yorkers.
“To Washington and the Republicans in Congress, especially the seven from our own State of New York: If you’re serious about keeping America safe, prove it,” Hochul said.
“Stop the hypocrisy. Stop trying to defund our police. Stop playing political games with people’s lives. And stop being silent when Secretary Noem abandons her duty to protect Americans, especially the people you represent. Work for New Yorkers instead of against them.”
FEMA administers the funds through its Transit Security Grant Program, established after 9/11 to support critical counterterrorism and transit security operations. The MTA carries a significant share of the nation’s transit riders, with more than six million daily trips across NYC Transit, the Long Island Rail Road, and Metro-North, as 6sqft previously reported.
In addition to roughly $12 million earmarked for the NYPD, the MTA planned to use this year’s grant funding for a range of security projects. These included two cybersecurity initiatives aimed at extending “cyber visibility” across the MTA’s critical systems, as well as a cyber lab to develop and test protections for operational technology.
The MTA also planned to deploy roughly 330 tactical cellular cameras to replace and upgrade unsecured devices, expand its mass-destruction chemical detection system across nine subway lines and a commuter rail terminal, and send 375 MTAPD counterterrorism teams, among other measures.
In August, FEMA confirmed that the MTA would receive the funds. However, less than two months later, the agency cut the award to zero without explanation. FEMA later stated it had done so because New York City is a “sanctuary city” for undocumented people, according to the Times. NY was the only one of 21 applicants to be denied funding.
On September 30, New York filed a lawsuit to restore the funding. The court issued a temporary restraining order preventing FEMA from withholding the money. The suit named as defendants the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Secretary Kristi Noem, as well as FEMA and Acting Administrator David Richardson
According to Streetsblog, a DHS spokesperson who declined to give their name would not confirm whether the agency intends to comply with the judge’s order
“Radical sanctuary politicians need to put the safety of the American people first—not criminal illegal aliens,” the spokesperson said. “The Trump Administration is committed to restoring the rule of law. No lawsuit, not this one or any other, is going to stop us from doing that.”
The withholding of funds is the latest instance of Trump’s ongoing conflict with New York State. Last week, Hochul successfully secured the restoration of $187 million in counterterrorism and homeland security funding that DHS had initially planned to cut.
On Wednesday, the Trump administration announced that it would “terminate” funding for Gateway, the project that includes two new tunnels under the Hudson River and ranks as the nation’s most urgent infrastructure initiative. However, as Politico reported, the Transportation Department has no current plans to halt the program, and construction continues.
Earlier this month, Trump announced that his administration would withhold $18 billion for the Second Avenue Subway and Hudson River Tunnel projects, citing the state’s “unconstitutional DEI principles.”
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