Audio & Rush Transcript: Governor Hochul is a Guest on CNN News Central

Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul was a guest on CNN News Central.

AUDIO: The Governor’s remarks are available in audio form here.

A rush transcript of the Governor’s remarks is available below:

Omar Jimenez, CNN:  El-Sayed's victory is the latest for the progressive left this election season, and follows big wins for democratic socialists, for example, in New York. Those candidates were endorsed by New York City's Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who is also a democratic socialist. Joining us now is someone who has been at the center of this dynamic, now the governor, Democratic Governor of New York, Kathy Hochul.

Governor, appreciate you taking the time. As I'm sure you saw, Abdul El-Sayed won his Democratic primary this week in Michigan, but it also prompts these questions about where the Democratic Party is, which, as we mentioned, I know you have dealt with firsthand across various races in your state, including the Mayor in New York City.

How would you characterize your working relationship with some of those who have come into power in the party further to your left?

Governor Hochul: Unlike Donald Trump, I actually respect the will of the voters, and I'll work with whomever the voters want me to work with — and I make it work. My job as the Governor is to ensure that we're delivering on affordability for people, understanding there's enormous stress among all of our residents, and they're looking for leadership that's going to stand up to power, speak the truth and also just deliver results.

So I can work with anyone, and when you ask the state of the party, I'm the leader of the Democratic Party in New York State, and I'm looking forward to harnessing the power of all the energy from all the elections, all the newly-elected candidates or nominated candidates, and winning in November.

Because New Yorkers understand this, that if we don't take back the House and take back the Senate, then heaven help us. So I'm charged with making sure we have that result, and I'm excited about our opportunities this November, just a few short months away.

Omar Jimenez, CNN: Is that tax on multimillion-dollar second homes one of those examples, for example, of compromise with some of the folks that, again, have come in further to your left? I ask that because generally it seemed you were resistant to raising taxes on the wealthy before this year because it might make people leave the city, and yet here the city and state are in this situation.

Governor Hochul: I can easily clarify the difference. I said I don't support increasing taxes on corporations who can leave or on individuals, but what I do support is saying that those who are able to afford a second home worth over $5 million but do not make New York City your home, you're benefiting from police and fire protective services, and are maintaining our roads, and during snowstorms and in the summer. So why aren't you contributing to this?

So I'm asking people to pay their fair share. Everybody else does. That's all we're asking for. So it's a different dynamic here, and I did this to help the City of New York, which I also represent, get through a financial crisis. Now, the Mayor did inherit a real fiscal mess, and he had to plug a hole, and I'm focused on keeping the economic engine for our state and the nation strong and viable.

So helping with a dedicated revenue source was one way I could do that.

Omar Jimenez, CNN: Separately, you are suing Kalshi alleging, in part, it is quintessentially gambling and would then be subject, as I assume, to New York gaming rules. We should mention CNN has a partnership with Kalshi and uses its data to cover major events.

But in this case, you're looking for them to pay fines equal to three times the gains the company has made through their actions, among other things. And Kalshi's CEO has argued they are federally regulated and operating under those rules. Is your goal to shut down Kalshi in New York? What are you looking for here?

Governor Hochul: My goal is to make sure that anyone operating in the State of New York follows our laws. It is that simple. We have laws that regulate gaming. Basically, gambling is illegal in the State of New York with narrow exceptions, and they're refusing to get a law changed so our gaming laws can cover them like other sports gaming.

We have casinos, we have sports gaming. They are a gambling enterprise. This is gaming, and anyone who says it otherwise doesn't know what they're talking about because this is exactly what is going on here. So we're not saying no, we're saying follow the laws of New York. It's real simple.

Omar Jimenez, CNN: This week, the Governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, ordered a comprehensive audit on all data centers going through the state's electricity agency, basically saying no data project will go forward until after that.

You instituted your own data center moratorium for up to a year, as I understand, last month. Did you have any conversations with leadership in Texas over to handle this growing demand for these centers?

Governor Hochul: No, I'm always flattered when other governors follow what we do, especially the State of Texas.

They're understanding the same anxiety that we're feeling here in the State of New York. People across this country are simply feeling powerless. The world has changed so much. They can't afford gas anymore because of a war they never wanted. They cannot get childcare for their families. They cannot get healthcare.

I spent time with seniors yesterday who are worried about the cost of prescriptions, drugs going up because Donald Trump is taking away a subsidy. So I'm responding to that, understanding that data centers consume enormous amounts of energy, and I don't want anything to drive up the rates for utilities for my rate payers, my families, my businesses at all.

So we put a moratorium in place, said, "You want to come to New York? You have to bring your own power or you pay a premium into our grid. You also have to have substantial benefits for communities."

So I would say this is a reaction to the anxiety we're hearing around this, the enormous consumption of space they take up — prime farmland or land that's Upstate New York that we're trying to preserve — and we're trying to deal with this energy crisis where I want to make sure that I can power major corporations like Micron that are creating 50,000 jobs and not data centers that are not creating anywhere near that.

So over the course of the year, we'll get it right. We'll tell businesses at the end of the year what exactly they have to do to be able to come to New York and engage in this. It's not a ban, it is simply saying, "I want to be the first to get it right."

Omar Jimenez, CNN: Some are looking at this and worry that this would hurt investment in the State of New York, for example.

Obviously, on one side, there are many environmental concerns, but the trade-off seems to be providing a place for some of that investment. Have you had conversations with any specific tech leaders or businesses that have assured you they are also on board with what you're asking here in terms of this moratorium?

Governor Hochul: I'll tell you what I just did literally moments ago. I got off almost an hour call with the significant business leadership of our City of New York. It's called the Partnership for New York, represents all the major businesses. I wanted to have a direct conversation with them, get feedback from them, but also say this: I have been very clear in my objectives.

It is to respond to the fact that we have over 30 applications to use high amounts of power, consume massive amounts of energy here in our state. If I allow all those to happen, I will not be able to power their own businesses. So we have to get it done in a smart way.
And I told the individuals, New York embraces technology. We embrace AI, we embrace innovation — it's in our DNA. So the investments should and will continue to keep coming to New York independent of what we're doing to get it right with respect to these hyperscale data centers. So I know we're going to do that the way the businesses expect us. They just want to know the rules of the road, and New Yorkers want to be protected, and I'm going to do both.

Omar Jimenez, CNN: All right. Governor Kathy Hochul of New York, appreciate you taking the time. Thanks for being here.

Governor Hochul: Thank you very much.

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