ISTANBUL 

A US judge on Wednesday blocked the federal government from diverting $34 million in funding intended to protect New York’s transit system from terrorism, citing the 9/11 attacks and ongoing security threats.

Judge Lewis A. Kaplan said New York is "quite likely" to demonstrate that the funds were being improperly redirected as part of the Trump administration’s effort to penalize the state for refusing to cooperate with its large-scale deportation program, CBS news reported.

The ruling is a temporary restraining order, set to remain into effect until Oct. 15, when Kaplan is due to issue a longer injunction.

On Tuesday, the state filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security and Federal Emergency Management Agency, highlighting that the Rail and Transit Security Grant Program was established after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks to safeguard transit systems from chemical, biological, radiological, and explosive threats.

New York’s transit system isn’t the only target of cuts — the Trump administration reduced the city police’s federal counterterrorism funding from $90 million to about $10 million, which NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch on Wednesday described as “profoundly bad news.”

In the temporary restraining order, Kaplan emphasized that the program was designed to be allocated strictly based on terrorism risk, noting, “Obviously, New York is no stranger to risks of terrorist attacks and it’s not just 9/11 that tells us that,” before citing multiple attacks since the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

The judge concluded that it is “reasonably likely, quite likely” that the state will prove the funding cuts were politically motivated, stemming from the Trump administration’s effort to penalize jurisdictions that resisted participation in what it called “the largest deportation mission in history.”

Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has publicly criticized cities that vote for Democrats, saying they are dangerous places to live and threatening to send in federal troops.

Current New York Mayor Eric Adams took office as a Democrat in 2022, before seeking reelection as an independent for this year's race. On Sunday, he exited the race.

Trump has attacked the current front-runner in the mayoral race, Democrat Zohran Mamdani, threatening to cut federal funds from the city if he wins.

New York City is due to elect its next mayor on Nov. 4.