Plugged In @ Hinman Straub
July 18, 2025
What’s Inside
- Governor Convenes Cabinet Meeting on Impacts of Recently Passed Legislation in Congress
- Governor Reacts to SCOTUS Ruling on Department of Education
- 2026 NYS Gubernatorial Race Fundraising
- Assemblymember Gonzalez-Rojas Files to Challenge Senator Jessica Ramos
- Former Governor Andrew Cuomo Announces Independent Run in NYC General Election
- In the News
- Coming Up
Governor Convenes Cabinet Meeting on Impacts of Recently Passed Legislation in Congress
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Governor Hochul convened a cabinet meeting yesterday to address the significant impacts of the recently passed “Big Ugly Bill” on New York State.
Key Impacts on New Yorkers:
- The bill is expected to reduce New York’s healthcare funding by $13 billion, potentially leaving 1.5 million residents without health insurance coverage.
- Over 300,000 households are at risk of losing some or all of their SNAP benefits.
In response, Governor Hochul directed state agencies to develop comprehensive plans to mitigate the long-term effects of these federal cuts on essential programs.
The governor’s press conference following the meeting can be watched here.
A breakdown of projected losses in health insurance and SNAP benefits from the Governor’s office follows.
Essential Plan/Medicaid Cuts
- More than 2 million New Yorkers could lose their current insurance coverage, including approximately 730,000 lawfully-present non-citizens who could lose Essential Plan (EP) coverage as more than half of EP’s budget — $7.5 billion in federal funding — is eliminated, and a further 1.3 million New Yorkers who will lose Medicaid coverage due to new eligibility and verification hurdles.
- Of these 2 million people, 1.5 million New Yorkers are anticipated to become uninsured, with uncompensated care costs to hospitals and providers estimated to rise to more than $3 billion annually — which means less access to care and higher medical bills for New Yorkers.
- Analysis from the Greater New York Hospital Association (GNYHA) and the Healthcare Association of New York State (HANYS) estimates a total $8 billion in annual cuts to New York’s hospitals and health systems, which could force hospitals to curtail critically needed services such as maternity care and psychiatric treatment, not to mention to downsize operations, and even close entirely. These consequences will not only affect Medicaid enrollees, but also harm everyone who requires hospital care, leading to longer wait times and less access to critical services.
SNAP and Nutrition Assistance
- New York State will be required to fund 15 percent of all SNAP benefits starting as early as October 1, 2027, at an estimated cost to the State of $1.2 billion per year.
- The law further cuts the federal share of SNAP administrative costs from 50 percent to 25 percent which will increase costs for the State by roughly $36 million annually, and increase costs for counties and New York City by roughly $168 million annually. Counties will have to begin incorporating this fiscal hit into their 2026 budgets due this fall.
- The law intentionally imposes unnecessarily administratively complex work requirements on SNAP recipients, which is projected to result in more than 300,000 households losing some or all of their SNAP benefits, devastating low-income households’ grocery budgets. With an average loss of $220 per household per month, New Yorkers are projected to lose more than $800 million of SNAP benefits due to these changes.
- The law further restricts eligibility for legally present noncitizens who have previously been eligible for SNAP, now excluding anyone that does not have legal permanent resident status, Cuban/Haitian status, or Compact of Free Association status. As a result, 41,000 noncitizens in New York State, including individuals granted refugee or asylee status by the federal government, are expected to lose the food assistance they rely on to feed themselves and their families, totaling roughly $108 million in lost SNAP benefits for New Yorkers.
Governor Reacts to SCOTUS Ruling on Department of Education
This week, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a ruling that allows the U.S. Department of Education to carry out its plans to continue reducing its workforce in mass. The ruling also aligns with President Trumps call to return education to the states.
Governor Hochul responded to the ruling with the statement below:
As Governor, I’m determined to ensure every New Yorker can access a quality, affordable education — and that every teacher has the support they need to help students succeed. Today’s ruling pushes that promise further out of reach by opening the door to devastating layoffs, deeper funding cuts and worse outcomes for our kids.
In addition, New York State Attorney General Letitia James and 22 other attorneys general sued the Trump administration for illegally freezing nearly $7 billion in critical education funding.
According to the Attorney General’s Office, on June 30, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) abruptly halted funds appropriated by Congress for six longstanding education programs, jeopardizing programs that provide after-school care for children of working parents, teach English to children who are non-native speakers, recruit and train teachers, expand STEM and arts curricula, and provide bullying and suicide prevention services in schools.
The attorneys general are asking the court to stop the unconstitutional freeze and compel the administration to release the billions of dollars in frozen funds that support some of the country’s most vulnerable children and their families.
More information on the lawsuit can be found here.
2026 NYS Gubernatorial Race Fundraising
In anticipation of the 2026 New York State Gubernatorial election, Governor Kathy Hochul has reportedly raised more than $4 million for her reelection campaign in the first six months of this year. Additionally, she brought in more than $7 million for the New York State Democratic Party. The latest fundraising haul, which included donations from all 62 counties in the state, brings her total fundraising for her campaign to $24.3 million since the start of her term in 2023.
The Governor’s campaign manager, Preston Elliot, issued the following statement:
Subsequently, U.S. Representative Elise Stefanik’s campaign announced this week that she has raised $4 million in the second quarter of the year, leaving her with $11 million cash on hand. According to reports, Stefanik’s cash on hand total is the largest for a New York Republican ever. Please note that it’s been widely reported that Stefanik is preparing to launch a campaign for Governor of New York State to challenge Governor Hochul.
Assemblymember Gonzalez-Rojas Files to Challenge Senator Jessica Ramos
According to reports, Assemblymember Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas is set to launch a primary challenge against State Senator Jessica Ramos. On Tuesday, Assemblymember Gonzalez-Rojas formally filed to run as a candidate in next year’s Democratic primary for Senate District 13. Senator Ramos currently represents that same district. Assemblymember González-Rojas currently represents Assembly District 34, which overlaps partly with Senate District 13.
After filing, Assemblymember Gonzalez-Rojas issued the following statement:
Following the Assemblymember’s entry into the race, Senator Ramos’ chief of staff and campaign manager Trivette Knowles issued the following statement:
More information can be found in City & State NY’s reporting here.
Former Governor Andrew Cuomo Announces Independent Run in NYC General Election
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After much speculation, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has formally announced his decision to run for New York City Mayor as an independent candidate in the upcoming general election in November. This announcement comes after his defeat in the Democratic primary to Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, who ran a progressive campaign and won by a significant margin of 12 points.
The announcement can be watched here.
In The News
City & State NY’s weekly Winners and Losers of this week here.
Adams, top aides ran ‘coordinated criminal conspiracy’ at NYPD, former interim commish alleges.
Trump reappoints top prosecutor for Upstate NY after judges dump him.
N.Y. lawmakers: No plans to return to Albany to address federal cuts.
Salary and benefits: How your tax dollars help lawmakers make ends meet – and drink coffee.
Hochul and Mamdani inch toward an uneasy truce.
Trump delivers shocking response to Andrew Cuomo’s independent bid for mayor against ‘communist’ Mamdani.
DiNapoli report scrutinizes New York state’s oversight of homeless shelters.
New York creates ‘master plan’ for aging population.
Cuomo’s new strategy after losing to Mamdani by double digits.
New York State Senate GOP want investigation, subpoenas over CDPAP transition.
Mamdani visits with congressional Democrats in Washington, shares details on winning campaign strategy.
Gov. Kathy Hochul directs agencies to cut $750M, accuses GOP of creating ‘intentional’ pain.
New York gov faces political conundrum over aid-in-dying bill.
Trump-driven chaos comes to U.S. Attorney’s office in waves.
SL Geen’s Holliday praises Adams as earnings call ventures into politics.
Hochul administration reviewing options to deal with health care cuts under Trump’s megabill.
Coming Up
POSTPONED The Senate will hold a public hearing to examine the Consumer-Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP) transition to a single statewide fiscal intermediary – new date August 21.