NY State Senate Making Plans To Withold Federal Taxes, Secede and Join Canada

Watch NY State Senator Krueger´s fiery speech and plan for New York to leave the USA and join Canada

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“It’s not unreasonable to think outside of the box,” state Sen. Liz Krueger told Playbook. | Hans Pennink/AP

Countering Trump 2.0

By NICK REISMAN, EMILY NGO and JEFF COLTIN

11/26/2024 07:00 AM EST

Presented by

With Timmy Facciola

But the Manhattan Democrat believes Trump’s own plans, like the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants and threats to punish states that oppose the move, are severe enough to warrant a little norm-shattering thinking among Albany lawmakers.

“It’s not unreasonable to think outside of the box,” said Krueger, who chairs the powerful Senate Finance Committee.

New York Democrats have only a few weeks to bolster their blue state against Trump 2.0.

Left-leaning legislators have unsuccessfully pressed for a December special session to pass measures that are aimed at protecting undocumented people and LGBTQ+ New Yorkers.

Krueger shares their concerns. She has also considered the scope of President-elect Donald Trump’s second presidency and what it means for a state where many Democrats cherish their role as a haven for vulnerable communities.

Her sentiment also underscores how difficult it will be for Democrats to gain leverage and Trump-proof New York. It’s not clear, for instance, how withholding federal tax dollars could be accomplished.

A steep cut in federal aid could be devastating for a state with a $239 billion budget that receives about $85 billion from Washington — much of it in Medicaid spending. New York sends about $362 billion in tax dollars to the federal government.

“We’re talking a lot of money,” Krueger said. “We’re talking money we couldn’t possibly replace unless we started sending the feds a lot less money.”

Whatever plan Democrats coalesce around to push back against Trump, they’ll have little opposition outside their conferences given the large majorities they hold in both chambers.

Trump’s first administration was marked in New York by a flurry of pent-up legislation. Democrats, empowered by a full majority in the state Senate, approved measures to aid tenants, expand voting and bolster abortion rights.

They also pressed for measures aimed squarely at Trump, like forcing the release of his state returns.

Still, some Democrats this time have urged caution. Trump received 43 percent in New York, the highest vote share for a Republican in more than 30 years. Post-Covid, voters have become restive over the cost of living and concerns over crime — issues that helped the GOP this cycle.

“It’s not our job to pick up the pitchforks that have been dropped by his many followers,” Long Island Assemblymember Chuck Lavine said in a recent interview.

Trump himself has signaled he wants to help his native state.

The president-elect’s administration will determine the future of crucial infrastructure projects like the Gateway Tunnel, and he’s expressed support for rehabbing the decaying Penn Station.

But skepticism abounds among left-leaning Democrats.

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Manhattan state Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal told Playbook of Trump’s interest in aiding New York.

And there’s the acknowledgment there’s little the Legislature can do given the power that will be wielded by Trump.

“With the courts aligned largely against New York at the federal level and the other two branches of government under Republican control,” Hoylman-Sigal said, “it’s going to be tough sledding.” — Nick Reisman

https://www.politico.com/newsletters/new-york-playbook/2024/11/26/countering-trump-2-0-00191630