By Courtney Rozen
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said he reversed his administration’s plan to cut $187 million from New York’s security funding, which the state’s governor described would have been “devastating.”
“I am pleased to advise that I reversed the cuts made to Homeland Security and Counterterrorism for New York City and State,” Trump said in a social media post.
Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul, who had criticised the initial move, welcomed the reversal and said the cuts would have affected the state’s law enforcement and counterterrorism operations.
“I’m glad President Trump heard our call and reversed course… Because of our efforts, $187 million in critical funding will be restored,” Hochul said in a statement.
The grants were part of the Homeland Security Grant Program, which is overseen by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and pay for states’ counterterrorism and emergency preparedness projects.
FEMA did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.
A federal judge in Rhode Island earlier this week temporarily blocked the Trump administration from cutting $233 million in counterterrorism grant funds for Democratic-led states, after eleven states sued over last-minute changes to such grants.
As of Friday, the administration has frozen at least $28 billion in funding for Democratic cities and states, escalating the president’s campaign to use the extraordinary power of the U.S. government to punish political rivals.
(Reporting by Courtney Rozen and Bhargav Acharya; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama )