New York City Comptroller Brad Lander has accused Elon Musk of “highway robbery” after $80 million approved by Congress “vanished” from the city’s bank account.
The Trump administration “clawed back” the $80 million that the Federal Emergency Management Agency paid to New York City last week to help house migrants, federal officials confirmed.
“Today … my @NYCComptroller office discovered that $80 MILLION in already authorized, allocated, and paid federal aid was WIPED from the City’s bank account,” Lander said Wednesday in a post on X.
“Let’s be crystal clear: This is highway robbery. Elon Musk, with no legal authority, illegally seized federal funds from New Yorkers,” Lander added. He said the money was supposed to reimburse the city for costs it had already incurred and had invoiced to the federal government.
The rescinded funds raise legality issues facing funding freezes and take-backs by Elon Musk and the Trump administration often in the wake of legally executed congressional appropriations and documents laying out payments and even funds for work already provided and costs incurred.
Lander, who is running for New York City mayor, also hit out at current Mayor Eric Adams for not “fighting back.” The federal Department of Justice dropped corruption charges against Adams soon after he was seen socializing with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago.
Trump’s new Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, whose department is responsible for FEMA, said she had “clawed back” the money Tuesday that “deep state activists unilaterally gave to NYC migrant hotels.”
“FEMA was funding the Roosevelt Hotel that serves as a Tren de Aragua [Venezuelan criminal operation] base of operations,” Noem said Wednesday. “Mark my words: There will not be a single penny spent that goes against the interest and safety of the American people.”
City police have said the Roosevelt, which houses hundreds of families, has also sheltered some members of an offshoot of Tren de Aragua, The New York Times reported. It wasn’t immediately clear, however, that any of the federal money was to be used to reimburse money spent on the Roosevelt shelter.
Musk responded to Noem’s statement on X simply with three flame emojis while the official Department of Government Efficiency account commented: “Amazing job.”
Musk claimed Monday that FEMA sent $59 million to luxury hotels in the city to house illegal migrants.
Mayor Adams’ spokesperson Liz Garcia said the city has never paid luxury rates for hotels. She said the money was authorized by Congress and allocated to the city last year by FEMA to house migrants. She said the city was exploring possible legal action over the missing funds.
Garcia told the New York Times that City Hall has been in contact with the White House and requested an emergency meeting with FEMA to “try and resolve the matter as quickly as possible.”
The Independent has contacted Musk and DOGE for comment.
FEMA’s acting administrator, Cameron Hamilton said the payments were suspended and the employment of FEMA’s chief financial officer, two program analysts and a grant specialist was terminated.
The employees made “egregious payments for luxury NYC hotels for migrants,” a Department of Homeland Security statement insisted. “DHS will not sit idly and allow deep state activists to undermine the will and safety of the American people.”
The statement gave no other details.
AP contributed to this report.
