The Trump Administration, led by Elon Musk‘s “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE), withdrew more than $80 million in FEMA funds out of a New York City bank account. The money, previously approved under the Biden administration to help the city “recoup expenses” for providing shelter and care to migrants, was taken by DOGE without warning or permission.
According to AM New York, City Comptroller Brad Lander called it “highway robbery”:
Lander said his office found out on Wednesday morning that the Trump administration snatched back the funding, saying it was for shelter and services. “This morning, my financial team shockingly uncovered that President Trump and his crony Elon Musk illegally executed a revocation of $80 million in congressionally appropriated FEMA funding from New York City’s bank accounts late yesterday afternoon,” the comptroller said.
Notably, the surprise “transaction” came mere hours after Musk tweeted, falsely, that FEMA was “housing migrants in luxury hotels” and that a “clawback demand will be made.” But instead of following through on a demand to return the funds, Musk’s ragtag team inside DOGE apparently just went ahead and took the money.
Since then, NYC Mayor Eric Adams has filed a lawsuit in federal court which seeks to recoup the “unlawful seizure of FEMA funds”:
The suit contends that the Trump administration moved to take back the funding as a ‘money grab’ because ‘they oppose the purposes for which the funds were appropriated, awarded, approved and paid.’ City Corporation Counsel Muriel Goode-Trufant said the lawsuit aims to not only get the $80 million back but also ensure the federal government never again makes such a seizure.
This is a particularly tenuous time for Adams to be making demands of the Trump Administration, as Pam Bondi’s DOJ recently moved to dismiss corruption charges against the mayor—which caused a number of federal prosecutors to resign in protest.
AUTHOR FOOTNOTE
Racists gonna racist. That’s the long and short of this scandal, and usually at the root of most stories about Donald’s impulsive actions. Cash allocated to make migrants more comfortable, one might reasonably conclude, is offensive to a lifelong xenophobe.
What’s also interesting to me is how DOGE/Elmo’s tactics mirror that of cryptocurrency thieves, who flip a few switches and get rich quick by nefarious means. In this case, though, the “transaction” (or theft, if you will) was likely much easier since the avenue/linkage for payment (assuming the initial one was digital) had presumably already been established.
I’ve seen no reporting on where that money went after it was “yanked back” and will continue following the story.
