January 14, 2026
FROM SEN GILLIBRAND’S OFFICE: In response to President Trump’s threat to stop payments to states with immigration enforcement policies he disagrees with, including New York, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand issued the following statement:
“President Trump’s continued partisan targeting of New York and other states that did not support his election is yet another broken promise from him. At a time when working Americans are already struggling under his administration’s inflation and tariffs, he continues to try and withhold your tax dollars, making life even harder for ordinary Americans. Funding for essential programs like Medicare, Social Security, health care, child care, education, law enforcement, anti-hunger initiatives, and transportation is not his to withhold. I would encourage our attorney general to again file suit against these illegal acts. She has beaten him in court before and can do so again.”
Also, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) urged Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to reverse the Department of Education’s decision to discontinue $168 million in Full-Service Community Schools grants across 12 states, including New York.
Gillibrand joined Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and nine of their colleagues in opposing the administration’s abrupt cuts to this funding in the middle of the school year. This will force schools to shut down essential programs that support students’ academic performance and facilitate families’ access to food, housing, and health care, among other services.
The senators also criticized the department’s vague claim that the grants – which have existed for over 15 years – violate civil rights law and stressed that these grant cancellations run directly counter to congressional intent and long-standing bipartisan support for this program that serves students and families all across the country.
“As costs continue to rise for families across the country, the Trump administration should be strengthening support for students and families, not pulling the rug out from under them in the middle of the school year and disrupting essential services in underserved communities,” said Senator Gillibrand. “Students and parents rely on the critical resources provided by community schools to help them succeed inside and outside the classroom. I am a strong supporter of the Full-Service Community Schools program and will keep fighting to restore this critical funding while working to ensure that our students have the resources they need to thrive.”
In addition to Senators Gillibrand, Schumer, Van Hollen, and Sanders, Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Andy Kim (D-NJ), and Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD) also joined the letter.
“We write to express our strong opposition to the Department of Education’s (“the Department”) recent action on December 12th, 2025, to discontinue $168 million in Full-Service Community Schools grants serving students across 12 states. Pulling expected federal grant funds from public schools in the middle of the school year, built around community partnerships and parent engagement, is just plain wrong. Congress authorized and appropriated funds specifically for the Full-Service Community Schools program because research shows community schools improve student academic achievement, reduce chronic absenteeism, and support student wellbeing. We demand that the Department fully reinstate all Full-Service Community Schools grants that were abruptly discontinued,” the senators began.
