Overview
- Cassidy, who leads the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, sent a follow-up letter seeking records on the working group’s purpose, any federally funded resources it uses, and its civil-rights compliance, and he set an April 6 deadline for a reply.
- He warned that roughly $600 million a year in federal support for the department could be jeopardized if the program breaches Title VI or other conditions attached to federal funding.
- Reporting on a transcript of the group’s first meeting says presenters described “the ongoing genocide in Palestine” and did not mention Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
- Health Commissioner Dr. Alister Martin told NY1 the department will keep doing its equity work even if Washington cuts funds, a stance Cassidy cited as raising compliance questions.
- City Hall and the health department have not publicly answered the latest letter, as earlier moves by Mayor Zohran Mamdani to rescind orders on antisemitism and opposition to BDS continue to draw concern from Jewish groups and lawmakers.