The White House will restore $187 million in cuts to law enforcement funding that would have devastated New York’s intelligence and counterterrorism operations, following a bipartisan effort to reinstate the funds, administration officials told The New York Times on Friday.
The cuts, which represented the largest federal defunding of police operations in New York in decades, were made by the Department of Homeland Security, without explanation and without the approval of President Trump, White House officials said.
Indeed, President Trump was blindsided by the decision to defund the police, not learning of the cuts until Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York called him on Sunday to protest the change after the fact, according to three people with knowledge of the call.
The frantic effort to undo the cuts, made to the Homeland Security Grant Program over the past two months, with the last $100 million being cut over the weekend, underscored the chaos unfolding as the Trump administration moves to punish political adversaries by stopping the flow of billions of dollars in federal funds that had already been allocated nationwide.
Homeland Security officials released a statement on Friday morning that did not explain the reasoning for the cuts or their reversal.
“FEMA works closely with our state and local partners to understand their needs and deliver grant funding directly into the hands of those who will utilize those funds most effectively,” the statement said, referring to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
“We are grateful for the partnership of the State of New York, and today are announcing full funding of H.S.G.P. grants to effectively counter and combat security threats within the Empire State.”
On Friday, Ms. Hochul said that she was “glad President Trump heard our call and reversed course, ensuring our state has the resources necessary to support law enforcement and keep our families safe.” She described the reversal as “a victory for public safety and for every New Yorker who depends on our brave law enforcement and first-responders to keep our state secure.”
The push to reverse the cuts, which included personal appeals from Ms. Hochul, a Democrat, as well as several of the state’s Republican House members, has been underway since the weekend.
The Republicans involved in the effort included, among others, Representatives Michael Lawler of the Hudson Valley, Elise Stefanik of the North Country, and Nicole Malliotakis, who represents Staten Island and southern Brooklyn and is New York City’s lone Republican in Congress.
The pushback posed a challenge for the Republican lawmakers, especially Ms. Stefanik, who is among Mr. Trump’s most loyal supporters and is considering running for governor next year.
They seldom challenge the Trump administration, but not doing so on cuts that would have been damaging to law enforcement could have hurt them with their supporters.
Ms. Malliotakis, for example, was careful not to criticize the president directly, and she thanked him on Friday for the reversal. But she was nonetheless incensed when she learned of the cuts, which she said would affect her district.
“It’s completely unacceptable that the N.Y.P.D. would get a cut of this magnitude, she said in an interview before the cuts were restored, adding that she had spoken with the president directly about them. “New York remains the No. 1 terror target.”
She questioned the logic of the cuts, and said she had urged Homeland Security officials to lay out the precise funding formula behind them.
“How did the Department of Homeland Security come to this determination, right?” Ms. Malliotakis said. “What formula are they using? What criteria? And we still have not received an answer.”
The Trump administration has cut funds to New York because of its refusal to cooperate with immigration officials on its deportation agenda. New York City’s sanctuary city laws only allow law enforcement to work with immigration officials if an individual has been convicted of a crime. The administration has also made cuts around the nation to institutions and governments reluctant to comply with the administration’s efforts to de-emphasize diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
It was not clear if the cuts to New York’s counterterrorism efforts were tied to immigration or D.E.I. initiatives. Either way, some Republican members of New York’s delegation insisted that punishing New Yorkers, and law enforcement in particular, for the policies out of Albany and New York City was wrongheaded.
“While I agree New York sanctuary policies need to change, I think the funds are vital to counter terrorism in New York,” Mr. Lawler said. “To me, this is bigger than the sanctuary city issue.”
Although Ms. Stefanik opposed the cuts privately, she publicly blamed New York and Ms. Hochul for the sanctuary policies that put the state on Homeland Security’s radar to begin with.
“New York Democrats caused these cuts due to their radical lurch to the socialist far left,” a senior adviser, Alex DeGrasse, said in a statement, adding that the congresswoman had “always strongly supported the police.”
Earlier this week Ms. Hochul also sent a letter to Kristi Noem, the Homeland Security secretary, in which she made the case that the funding cuts her made “all of America more vulnerable to terrorist attacks.”
“Do not play games with this critical security funding,” she warned.
There was no reply to that letter, state officials said. But Homeland Security had defended the cuts as recently as Thursday, saying in a statement that the agency had been “focused on aligning its grant programs with the Trump administration’s priorities to streamline federal resources and reduce the burden on the American taxpayer.”
At a news conference on Wednesday, Jessica Tisch, the New York Police Department commissioner, described the cuts as “a betrayal,.
“Counterterrorism funding cannot be a political issue,” she said. “It cannot rise and fall based on partisan whims. To strip this funding away from the No. 1 terrorist target in the world is a profound mistake.”
Maria Cramer contributed reporting.
Grace Ashford covers New York government and politics for The Times.
Tyler Pager is a White House correspondent for The Times, covering President Trump and his administration.
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