New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s plan to invest $15 million in gender-transitioning care is fueling an already dire spending crisis, according to Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y.
Speaking on Newsmax’s “Ed Henry: The Big Take” Thursday, Tenney said New York taxpayers are drowning under high spending and taxes — and the new proposal only makes it worse.
“The whole state is deep in debt, and New York City is part of the problem.”
Mamdani recently announced the $15 million investment for gender-transitioning care services. The proposal has drawn Republican criticism while advocates argue such care is essential for transgender residents.
Tenney framed the proposal as part of what she called excessive government spending in New York. She pointed to the state’s nearly $269 billion budget — more than double what it was when she served in the New York State Assembly until 2016.
She also compared New York City’s budget to Florida’s.
“The budget for New York City is larger than the state of Florida with 8 million people,” Tenney said.
The congresswoman criticized Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul, accusing state leaders of expanding social programs while relying on taxpayer funding to support them.
Tenney said the proposed $15 million investment may appear small in the context of New York’s overall spending — but such programs tend to grow over time.
“Fifteen million probably is a small amount. But that’s just the beginning. Once they take a little, it just ends up costing, costing, costing.”
She questioned whether taxpayers should be responsible for funding gender-transitioning care programs and argued that state leaders believe there is an unlimited source of government revenue despite population losses.
Tenney pointed to New York’s continued population decline and migration to lower-tax states as evidence that residents are dissatisfied with the state’s fiscal policies.
“We have the highest out-migration of any state in the country,” she said.
The congresswoman also argued that rising taxes could accelerate the departure of both wealthy and middle-class residents. She contended that New York recently surpassed California as the nation’s highest-taxed state.
