Adams admin skips council hearing on possible Trump budget cuts

Nobody from the Adams administration showed up to testify at a Wednesday City Council hearing on the looming potential threat of federal funding cuts, further infuriating members as they urge Mayor Eric Adams to “Trump proof” the city budget and expand savings and reserves.

“A budget is a moral document, and it has never been more urgent that our city budget reflect our values,” City Council Government Operations Committee Chair Lincoln Restler said Wednesday morning. “To demonstrate we refuse to bow down to the recklessness and bellicosity in Washington and prove to New Yorkers that they can trust us to protect them.”

Officials from the Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget, the Mayor’s Office of Federal Affairs, the Human Resources Administration, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Administration for Children’s Services, the Department of Education, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, the Department of Emergency Management, the New York City Police Department and Health and Hospitals were invited to testify at the oversight hearing. None came. Nor did committee members receive written testimony from the Adams administration as promised the night prior by First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro – at least not upon the start of the hearing, according to the City Council.

“That’s not just respectful, it’s a slap in the face to every New Yorker who deserves answers,” City Council Finance Committee Chair Justin Brannan said, referring to the absences. “At a moment of unprecedented budget threats, the administration at City Hall should be standing with us and not ducking accountability.”

It wasn’t a blanket boycott on council hearings. Later in the afternoon, several people from the Adams administration appeared before a different City Council committee hearing centered on closing Rikers Island. 

The mayor has been reluctant to criticize Trump, and has appeared to align himself with the president on many issues. He visited Trump in Florida ahead of his inauguration, appeared on Fox & Friends with Trump’s border czar and recently promoted a book about government corruption written by Trump’s FBI director. A spokesperson for the Adams administration did not respond to questions about why no officials testified or why council members had yet to receive the written testimony as of Wednesday morning, but she did push back on accusations that they are not taking action. 

“When a reduction in funds has indeed taken place, our administration has filed lawsuits, submitted affidavits, lobbied the federal government, and done more to ensure our city gets the critical funding we need,” City Hall spokesperson Kayla Mamelak Altus said in a statement. “Any council member claiming otherwise is exposing this hearing for what it truly was: a political stunt, not a genuine effort to solve problems.” She also reiterated that the Adams administration is sending written testimony to the committee.

The Adams administration and the City Council are currently engaged in the annual negotiation over the budget for next fiscal year, which starts July 1. While the process to hash out a deal is always fairly complicated and arduous, the Trump administration’s threats to cut federal funding as well as the broader economic instability – like tariff uncertainty – hang heavy over proceedings. Roughly 8% of the city’s latest budget for the current fiscal year comes from the federal government, which translates to about $9.6 billion. This funding supports a range of vital city services, including city planning, public health, public education and more. The state budget meanwhile – which the city heavily relies upon for things like the MTA, Medicaid, NYCHA, the City University of New York, cash assistance programs like SNAP and more – gets about 39% of its funding from the federal government. 

In the case of the Trump administration clawing back roughly $188 million granted to the city under the Biden administration to support migrant shelters and services, the Adams administration is fighting back. The mayor has argued that the money belongs to the city – though he hasn’t directly blamed Trump – and a legal battle is currently underway. 

While it’s too soon to know the full extent of how potential cuts could impact the city, independent budgeting experts, the City Council and advocates have been sounding the alarm for weeks, urging the Adams administration to expand city savings, reserves and rainy day funds in preparation. Brannan and Restler both said Wednesday that Adams has not communicated a plan to fight back against the cuts. 

Ahead of the hearing, Brannan, Restler and City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams released a list identifying some of the ways they say the city can shift money around in the budget to address potential gaps. That list, which was first reported by Politico New York, included things like allocating $8 million for new vaccination hubs and $2.5 to hire officers for the police department’s counterterrorism bureau.

“The lack of planning and preparation by this administration of the impending tsunami of cuts is a complete dereliction of duty,” Restler said at the hearing.

Mayor Adams’ executive budget proposal is due May 1. 

“We are not looking to have a gotcha moment. We want to hear what their plan is,” Brannan told reporters prior to the hearing beginning. “We are all in this together guys, like what is your plan? Federal cuts are coming. They’re already here.”