Hochul says Trump's budget is 'reckless and dangerous'
Plus: State budget could kill Dolly Parton reading program, Assembly hearing scheduled next week and other news from the Capitol.
Good afternoon — it’s Friday and Space Day.
In today’s CapCon:
Hochul is pressuring New York Republicans in Congress to push back on Trump’s budget unveiled Friday.
Back in Albany, the state budget remains open. Even small items, like an expansion of a Dolly Parton reading program, are in flux.
New York’s laws on ticketing for live venues expire in June. The Assembly has scheduled a hearing for next week to learn more.
A bill in response to the death of Robert L. Brooks is scheduled to move next week, as is an amendment to the state constitution.
State Senate Republicans are forcing Democrats next week to vote against considering some of their top bills.
A new bill would prevent other states from using license plate data from New York to enforce abortion laws. Another would overhaul town and village courts.
Names in today’s CapCon: Kathy Hochul, Donald J. Trump, Mike Lawler, Andrea Stewart-Cousins, Dolly Parton, Liz Krueger, Brad Hoylman-Sigal
📖 Hochul slams Trump’s spending plan as state budget talks continue
There are two complaints that dominated my conversations with lawmakers at the state Capitol this week.
The first was the fact that the state budget is not a done deal, despite Gov. Kathy Hochul announcing an agreement on Monday. We have since learned that disagreements over spending remain.
But Democrats at the state Capitol are united on at least one thing: opposition to cuts in federal spending, including those proposed Friday by President Donald J. Trump.
Trump’s federal budget proposal would cut spending by $163 billion. Total discretionary spending would be about $1.7 trillion.
While I know quite a bit about the state budget in New York, I know less about the federal budget so I’ll refer you to this story on the Times Union’s website.
One item that stuck out to me was Trump’s proposal to end the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which helps low-income people with their home heating and cooling costs.
Hochul has been a big supporter of that program, even dumping emergency funds into it earlier this year when federal funding lapsed.
She didn’t mention that program specifically but knocked Trump’s budget proposal in a statement Friday afternoon.
“This budget proposal is a culmination of the reckless and dangerous cuts we’ve seen from Washington over the last several months,” Hochul said. “While I’m doing everything in my power to protect New Yorkers from these devastating blows, no state in the nation can backfill the cuts that the president is proposing.”
Hochul then turned to a strategy she’s employed in recent months when speaking about federal spending. She’s tried to apply pressure to Republicans in Congress from New York to push back.
“After months of complicity in crisis after crisis, New York Republicans in Congress need to do their jobs and stand up for the people they represent before more damage is done,” Hochul said.
At least one of them beat her to the punch, at least on the energy assistance program: Rep. Mike Lawler, who’s considering a run against her next year.
“The proposed $4 billion cut to LIHEAP in the FY2026 budget is a reckless move that will leave Hudson Valley families out in the cold,” Lawler said. “This program is a lifeline for low-income households in New York, including many in my district, to keep their heat on.”
Trump’s budget is fresh so I didn’t see a ton of reaction from other New York members of Congress. We’ll keep an eye on that in the coming days.
But back in Albany, the second complaint I heard from lawmakers this week was a growing frustration over how much time has been cut from the rest of the legislative session because of the month-late budget.
Because they’ve had to focus on the budget, there’s been little time to plot out other priorities. If you’re wondering what some of those priorities are, I wrote about some of them earlier this week.
Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins told Capital Tonight’s Susan Arbetter Thursday night that Foundation Aid — state aid for schools — and capital funding in the budget hadn’t been resolved.
And I received a tip last night from a source close to the negotiations that the $7 million Hochul had proposed to expand Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library could be on the chopping block as staff try to find a way to shuffle around funding.
That program, which provides free books to children under the age of 5, is already operating in some areas of the state. It currently provides free books to about 70,000 kids in New York.
The funding would help grow the program across the state and cut costs for affiliates that already participate. There’s a separate bill in the Legislature to do that but we know that Hochul often vetoes bills with spending approved outside the budget.
The cut isn’t final but it’s a really good example of how fluid the budget is, or was as of last night. Click here for the vibe.
At the Capitol gives you information about scheduled committee meetings, hearings and other government goings-on at the Capitol and in the Legislature.
🕥 At the Capitol: Monday and next week
The Legislature is scheduled to be in session Monday through Thursday next week but could stick around if they still need to vote on budget bills.
There’s already a lot happening next week outside of the budget, including a hearing on the state’s expiring ticketing laws and some interesting bills up for consideration.
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