Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) delivered her State of the State address Tuesday, giving her first key address toward her reelection bid.
Hochul, who will likely face Republican Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman later this year, touted her progressive childcare plan, affordability plan, and railed against the Trump administration’s immigration operations.
She took an early swing at President Donald Trump while touting her new childcare plan.
“While Washington takes a machete to our safety net, I’m doubling down on the fight for more affordable New York, starting with child care for parents,” she told lawmakers and other elected officials, including state Attorney General Letitia James and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
The childcare proposal is one of Hochul’s most ambitious. She recently announced that she would support Mamdani’s universal child care plan in New York City with a $1.7 billion investment. She aims to make pre-K universal and eventually roll out universal child care for any child under 5.
Mamdani promised New York City voters that he would institute free child care for any child under 5 years old, but his plan would cost billions of dollars and hasn’t been instituted yet. Hochul’s altered plan signaled her support for the socialist’s wider initiative, though it’s unclear if she’s in complete support of his version of universal childcare in New York City.
Hochul also railed on the Trump administration’s immigration operations in New York City and beyond. She started by referencing the recent death of Renee Good in Minneapolis after she allegedly struck an immigration enforcement officer with her car.
“Just last week, the world watches an immigration operation in Minneapolis that never should have been there, left a child without a mother, and a community and indeed, a nation shattered. It’s all part of an agenda that only makes our lives harder,” she said.
The governor also mocked the recent immigration arrest of a data analyst from Venezuela, whom the Department of Homeland Security claims has a previous assault arrest and overstayed their visa.
“Yesterday, they arrested an analyst at New York City Hall, an analyst with legal work authorization. Have you met an analyst lately? They’re really not threatening. They’re not the baddest of the bad, and they’re just doing their jobs. Is that person really a threat? Come on,” she said, committing not to use state resources to back federal immigration operations.
Another prevailing theme from Hochul’s address is her resistance to Trump’s tariffs. She said the taxes would “drive” up costs on “everything from groceries to farm equipment.” She also mentioned a clothing boutique owner in New York City whose “business is getting hit so hard from Trump’s tariffs,” but is enduring.
Other proposals from the address include her plan to exclude Immigration and Customs Enforcement from “sensitive” locations, such as places of worship, schools, and hospitals; making data centers “pay their fair share” for the energy they consume, matching Trump’s recent proposal; and eliminating state income tax on tips.
Hochul ended her address by cheering her local NFL team, the Buffalo Bills, and donning a team cap. Immediately afterward, she released a statement saying her address provides “a clear, actionable plan to meet the challenges families face today, while preparing New York for the road ahead.”
The New York Republican Party offered criticism throughout Hochul’s address in the hope of undermining the governor’s reelection hopes and boosting Blakeman.
HOCHUL WEIGHS AI REGULATIONS AS TRUMP SETS FEDERAL RULES
“The state of our State is not strong. We are in an affordability crisis, and one-party Democrat rule is to blame. That’s why we lead the nation in outmigration,” it wrote on X in one post.
In another post, the organization accused her of running against Trump. “If Kathy Hochul wanted to run against Donald Trump, she should have run for President. She certainly couldn’t have done any worse than the candidate they got,” it said.