Mayor Eric Adams of New York, a conservative Democrat who has vowed to refrain from publicly criticizing President Trump, on Tuesday inched close to violating that pledge.
In response to the Trump administration’s directive to freeze trillions of dollars in federal grants and loans, the mayor issued a statement expressing something akin to concern.
“We are assessing the full reach of the administration’s announcement, as specific programs are not named in the memo,” the mayor said. “We are in touch with our federal counterparts as we continue to monitor this situation closely, and we will advocate firmly on behalf of New Yorkers whose lives are impacted by affected programs.”
Mr. Adams noted that New Yorkers send a disproportionate share of income taxes to the federal government, and suggested that the city had long partnered with federal officials to ensure that a fair portion of that money was returned to help fund critical services.
The New York City budget relies on roughly $10 billion in federal funds a year, according to the city comptroller. The mayor’s office put the number at $11.8 billion.
By late afternoon, many New York leaders had begun to take action: Attorney General Letitia James, along with several other state attorneys general, announced a plan to file a lawsuit to block the president’s action. The New York City comptroller, Brad Lander, held a news conference outside a federal building in Lower Manhattan warning that the directive, if not overturned relatively soon, could blow a devastating hole in the city’s budget. He urged Mr. Adams to challenge it in the courts.
A spokesman for the mayor said the city was still reviewing its options.
Mr. Adams is facing trial in April on federal corruption charges, just two months before the Democratic primary for mayor. Mr. Trump has expressed sympathy for Mr. Adams’s legal plight and suggested an openness to pardoning him. Mr. Adams, in turn, has adopted a conciliatory approach to the administration that is at odds with many of his Democratic peers.
Mr. Lander, who is challenging Mr. Adams in the primary, urged the mayor to put aside his “personal legal issues” and stand up for New York.
He said that while he did not, in the short term, anticipate the city’s having cash flow issues, the halt to federal funding could prove disastrous in the long term.
“This is like, literally, the bully stealing our lunch money, and it is critical for New York City to stand up and be counted and make clear we won’t stand for it,” Mr. Lander said.
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