Hours before polls opened in the heated New York mayoral race on Monday, United States President Donald Trump backed Andrew Cuomo and threatened to pull federal funds if Democrat Zohran Mamdani won.
He had earlier hinted at this during his 60 Minutes interview on CBS News which aired on Sunday, when he called Mamdani a “communist” and said if he wins, it would be hard “to give a lot of money to New York”.
Here is what Trump has threatened, and what the constitution says about the president’s power to withhold federal funds from individual states.
Who is leading the polls in the New York mayoral election?
According to the latest RealClearPolitics average, Mamdani was ahead with 46.1 percent of the vote, holding a 14.3-point advantage over independent Cuomo, at 31.8 percent, and a 29.8-point lead over Republican Curtis Sliwa, at 16.3 percent, as polling booths opened at 6am local time (11:00 GMT) on Tuesday.
What has Trump threatened?
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote: “If Communist Candidate Zohran Mamdani wins the Election for Mayor of New York City, it is highly unlikely that I will be contributing Federal Funds, other than the very minimum as required, to my beloved first home, because of the fact that, as a Communist, this once great City has ZERO chance of success, or even survival!
“It is my strong conviction that New York City will be a Complete and Total Economic and Social Disaster should Mamdani win.
“I would much rather see a Democrat, who has had a Record of Success, WIN, than a Communist with no experience and a Record of COMPLETE AND TOTAL FAILURE,” he added.
In the post, Trump encouraged voting for Cuomo and discouraged voting for Sliwa. “A vote for Curtis Sliwa (who looks much better without the beret!) is a vote for Mamdani.”
Trump’s post echoed his sentiments on CBS News, when he said he is unlikely to send money to New York should Mamdani win. “It’s gonna be hard for me as the president to give a lot of money to New York, because if you have a communist running New York, all you’re doing is wasting the money you’re sending there.”
Is Mamdani a communist?
Trump and other US Republicans have repeatedly called Mamdani a communist. Mamdani describes himself as a democratic socialist, and when asked if he was a communist during NBC’s Meet the Press in June, he said, “No, I am not.”
A Muslim US citizen originally from Uganda, Mamdani’s campaign has focused on making New York more affordable for residents with rent freezes, free universal childcare and lower public transport costs. However, most describe him as a socialist – not a communist.
In June, PolitiFact also debunked claims that Mamdani is a communist. “Communism involves a centrally planned economy, with no market forces. Prices and quantities are set by a central government authority. There is no democratic political competition, and instead a single party rules the country. He is not calling for any of this,” Stanford University professor Anna Grzymala-Busse told PolitiFact.
On Monday, even Cuomo said: “Mamdani is not a communist. He’s a socialist. But we don’t need a socialist mayor either.”
Who is Cuomo, the ‘bad Democrat’ Trump is now backing?
Cuomo is an independent candidate who was New York’s Democratic governor from 2011 to 2021. He also served as attorney general of New York state from 2007 to 2010.
He initially stood in the Democratic primaries for this mayoral election but lost to Mamdani. Cuomo received 43.61 percent of the votes, and Mamdani 56.39 percent.
The billionaire was plagued by sexual harassment allegations during his term as governor and was ultimately forced to step down from office.
In April, the New York City Campaign Finance Board (CFB) found that Cuomo’s campaign had not provided evidence of digital donations, a requirement to qualify for public funds. Cuomo’s campaign lost out on nearly $3m in public funds as a result of this.
Then, in May, the CFB fined his campaign $675,000 for “improper coordination” with a supporting Super PAC.
How much does NYC actually depend on federal funds?
According to a New York State Comptroller report, which is an analysis of federal funding for New York City published in April this year, the city will require $7.4bn in federal funding for the fiscal year 2026.
The report, published on April 28, showed that the federal funding accounts for 6.4 percent of total spending. The remaining funds came from state taxes, fees and other income. State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli serves as the chief fiscal officer of New York state.
In the fiscal year 2025, the city’s operational budget was $9.7bn, including $1.1bn in pandemic funds.
The report said federal funding largely goes towards the city’s housing and social services agencies. The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) was the largest non-pandemic federal fund for fiscal years 2025 and 2026.
What does the law say?
Under the US Constitution, it is Congress, not the president, which has the authority to decide how federal funds are allocated to states.
Article I of Section 8 of the US Constitution states that Congress can collect taxes and decide how money should be spent on national requirements. Additionally, Article I of Section 9 of the US Constitution states: “No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law.”
If the president does not execute federal funding decisions made by Congress, that would be considered an unconstitutional act of “impoundment” on the president’s part.
In 1974, the Impoundment Control Act (ICA) was passed after then-President Richard Nixon tried to withhold funds already approved by Congress. The ICA allows the president to withhold funds appropriated by Congress for 45 days, but his decision to withhold funds must then be approved by Congress. So, while the president gets a degree of discretion over federal funding, Congress still makes the final call.
Congress is currently controlled by the Republican Party. Republicans hold 53 seats in the Senate, while Democrats hold 47; Republicans hold 220 seats and Democrats hold 212 in the House of Representatives.
Has the government already cut federal funding to New York?
The Trump administration has already tried to cut funding to the city under its outgoing mayor, Democrat Eric Adams.
The Trump administration has blocked $12m in federal grant money that would have gone to New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), which planned to pass it to the New York City Police Department (NYPD) for counterterrorism policing on the Subway.
The federal grant money was revoked as part of a broader set of federal funding pauses announced in January.
On October 8, Adams announced that New York City was filing a motion in support of New York state’s legal case against Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, aimed at preventing her from revoking that funding.
Besides, the New York State Comptroller report also found: “New York City has already been notified of hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts or pauses to federal funding for this year and next, but the full impact of recent actions by Washington is not yet known.”
The report added that on April 8, New York City was formally told by the federal government that certain grants it had already legally been awarded would be paused, partially cut, or fully terminated.
DiNapoli predicted that the potential reduction to the city’s day-to-day operating budget could be as much as $400m for the fiscal year 2025 and $135m for the fiscal year 2026 – or even higher, as his predictions do not account for any further changes that might be made when the federal government finalises its budget for the fiscal year 2026.
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