The Trump administration has revoked greater than $80 million in funds from New York Metropolis financial institution accounts after Elon Musk earlier this week threatened to claw again FEMA cash used to accommodate migrants in “luxury hotels,” prompting Metropolis Corridor to lift the potential for authorized motion.
The town obtained a fee of $80.5 million from the Federal Emergency Administration Company’s Shelter and Companies Program on Feb. 4. However Wednesday morning, Metropolis Comptroller Brad Lander found that FEMA abruptly cancelled the disbursement, making the cash disappear from New York Metropolis coffers.
Liz Garcia, a spokeswoman for the mayor, later confirmed the allocation was gone and mentioned Adams’ workplace has “requested an emergency meeting with FEMA to try and resolve the matter as quickly as possible.”
“The Corporation Counsel is already exploring various litigation options,” Garcia added, referring to town Legislation Division.
Adams informed reporters on his method in to a city corridor Wednesday afternoon that his crew had reached out to the White Home and hoped to fulfill with the Trump administration to clarify how President Biden’s administration had “left us with a huge price tag” that town mustn’t should shoulder.
Musk, who below Trump has been given important affect over federal authorities operations, wrote on X on Monday that the president’s administration was in search of to drive town to return $59 million in FEMA funding he claimed had been spent on housing migrants in “luxury hotels.” Whereas some migrants, particularly households with youngsters, have been housed in inns within the metropolis, none are within the “luxury” class, metropolis officers say.
In response to Lander, the FEMA cash was authorised by Congress in 2023 whereas Biden was in workplace. It was imagined to be distributed to town for sheltering migrants and supply them with different companies.
“This highway robbery of our funds directly out of our bank account is a betrayal of everyone who calls New York City home,” Lander mentioned in an announcement.
The Trump administration fired 4 FEMA staff concerned in doling out funds to New York Metropolis, together with the company’s chief monetary officer, “for circumventing leadership to unilaterally make egregious payments,” in response to a launch.
The Division of Authorities Effectivity, the duty drive Trump tapped Musk to steer, found the disbursement, Musk mentioned. Musk mentioned final week’s fee was in “gross insubordination to the President’s executive order,” showing to discuss with a January order directing Homeland Safety to pause distribution of federal funding to nongovernmental organizations offering companies to migrants.
Comptroller Brad Lander (Barry Williams/ New York Every day Information)
Adams has mentioned he is not going to publicly criticize Trump or his administration. As a substitute, he has mentioned he’ll take his considerations to Trump in personal.
On Monday, Adams convened a gathering along with his personal high officers to induce them to not converse badly in regards to the president in public, saying that in the event that they had been to take action, it might threat federal funding.
Later that very same day, Trump’s Division of Justice ordered the prosecutors in Adams’ prison case to drop the fees in opposition to him — partly arguing Adams should be freed from the burden of his corruption indictment to assist perform Trump’s immigration agenda within the metropolis.
“In many ways, this is the first test of whether Mayor Adams will stand up to a blatantly anti-New York City action,” Lander mentioned, including that he hopes Adams will converse out in opposition to the funding take-back and work with the state legal professional common and metropolis attorneys to pursue authorized motion.
Initially Revealed: February 12, 2025 at 1:03 PM EST
