The Trump administration quickly made good on its vow to claw back federal funding meant to cover some of the costs of housing migrants borne by New York City, unilaterally reversing the transfer of $80 million that the Federal Emergency Management Agency made to the city last week.

City leaders said on Wednesday that they noticed $80 million had suddenly gone missing from city bank accounts. Shortly after, the Department of Homeland Security, which houses FEMA, confirmed that the money had been taken back on Tuesday, a significant escalation of President Trump’s attempts to freeze or reverse funding that had previously been appropriated by Congress.

The clawback occurred one day after Elon Musk targeted the FEMA funds in a post on X, inciting a Republican uproar over the use of federal dollars to shelter migrants and prompting the Trump administration to fire four FEMA officials involved in the transfer.

City officials questioned the legality of the move, which appeared to be among the first known instances of the Trump administration seizing back congressionally appropriated funds from a locality.

Liz Garcia, a spokeswoman for Mayor Eric Adams, said that City Hall had communicated with the White House and had requested an emergency meeting with FEMA to “try and resolve the matter as quickly as possible.”

She added that City Hall was conducting an “internal investigation into how this occurred,” and that the city’s Law Department was “already exploring various litigation options.”