Tenure
In August 2021, The Daily Beast and The Buffalo News reported on a potential conflict of interest between Hochul's role as governor and the high-level executive position held by her husband, William Hochul, at Delaware North, a Buffalo-based casino and hospitality company. Delaware North has stated that William Hochul will be prohibited from working on any matter that involves state business, oversight, or regulation. A spokesman for Kathy Hochul has said that she had a recusal process as lieutenant governor and would maintain that process as governor.
On August 26, 2021, Hochul appointed State Senator Brian Benjamin to the position of lieutenant governor of New York. Benjamin was sworn in on September 9, 2021. Hochul also appointed Karen Persichilli Keogh to be secretary to the governor and Kathryn Garcia to be director of state operations. In October 2021 Houchul endorsed Eric Adams in the 2021 New York City mayoral election.
In November 2021, Hochul pushed to end remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic and to return workers to offices. That same month, Hochul offered her plans to redevelop Manhattan's Pennsylvania Station and the surrounding neighborhood. In her plans, she called for reducing density in the area.
In December 2021, Hochul announced the reinstatement of an indoor mask mandate amid the spread of the Omicron variant.
In January 2022, she expanded an existing vaccine mandate for healthcare workers to include a booster shot requirement. Also in January 2022, Hochul confirmed that New York's eviction moratorium would expire on January 15. She announced that she would sign on to a letter with other governors to the federal government asking for more rent assistance, after New York received only $27.2 million of its nearly $1 billion request. Tenant advocates and other politicians have pushed her and state lawmakers to pass the good cause eviction bill, which would give tenants the right to a lease renewal in most cases, cap rent increases, and require landlords to obtain a judge's order to evict tenants.
In March 2022, Hochul reached an agreement with the Buffalo Bills to have taxpayers pay $850 million for the construction of a new stadium, as well as commit to maintain and repair the stadium. It was set to be the largest taxpayer contribution ever for a National Football League facility. The agreement was released four days before the state budget was due to be passed, making it hard for lawmakers to scrutinize it. Critics of the agreement characterized it as corporate welfare. Part of the funding for the stadium came from a payment from the Seneca Nation of New York, whose bank accounts had been recently frozen as part of a long-running dispute between the Seneca Nation and the State of New York over the Seneca Nation's refusal to pay certain fees related to casino gaming despite being ordered to do so by multiple judicial bodies.
On April 12, 2022, Brian Benjamin resigned as lieutenant governor after having been indicted earlier that day on federal charges of bribery, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and falsification of records. The crimes of which Benjamin is accused were allegedly committed during his State Senate tenure. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
On May 3, 2022, Hochul selected U.S. Representative Antonio Delgado to serve as lieutenant governor of New York. Delgado was sworn in on May 25.
On June 22, 2022, Hochul announced a $300 million plan to rebuild infrastructure in western New York communities with public and private funding.
In 2022, a citizens' group called Uniting NYS and a group of state legislators sued Hochul in the New York State Supreme Court in George M. Borrello et al. v. Kathleen C. Hochul et al. to prevent implementation of a recently created state department of health policy enabling health practitioners to refer even asymptomatic patients suspected of having been exposed to a contagious illness for possible involuntary detention backed by law enforcement, with the option of holding detainees incommunicado. The policy had been created without consulting the state legislature and did not require an emergency to be implemented. New York Supreme Court Justice Ronald Ploetz ruled against Hochul on the grounds of unconstitutionality under the separation of powers doctrine of both the state and federal constitutions, as well as on the grounds that the policy was cruel and lacked due process. The New York state attorney general and Hochul are filing an appeal to retain the regulations, and the appeal is being challenged.
In late 2022, Hochul delayed the signing of the Digital Fair Repair Act, a bill that received rare bipartisan support. The delay was allegedly due to major equipment manufacturers' lobbying efforts. On December 28, 2022, Hochul signed the Digital Fair Repair Act (Senate bill 4104-A) into law, but not before adding an amendment that equipment manufacturers "may provide assemblies of parts rather than individual components". Independent repair analysts such as Louis Rossmann have claimed these amendments undermine the bill's purpose, and allege codification into law of "unethical practices".
Hochul was inaugurated on January 1, 2023.
In 2023, Hochul nominated Hector LaSalle for the vacant position of chief judge of the New York Court of Appeals. LaSalle's nomination drew opposition from a wide variety of Democratic groups and constituencies, including numerous unions and trade groups, criminal justice advocates, elected officeholders, and local party affiliates, who raised concerns about his track record on issues relating to abortion, criminal justice, corporate interests, and the environment. Many also suggested that he would do little to stem, or could even accelerate, the Court of Appeals's rightward drift under the previous chief judge, Janet DiFiore. Despite an extensive lobbying campaign by Hochul's allies, including support from U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, the Senate Judiciary Committee rejected LaSalle's nomination by a 10–9 vote. Hochul subsequently sued to demand a full floor vote. Democratic leadership then held a full Senate floor vote, which overwhelmingly rejected LaSalle's nomination. Hochul proceeded to nominate associate judge Rowan D. Wilson as chief judge and Caitlin Halligan as the replacement associate judge for Wilson. The New York Senate confirmed the nominations on April 19, 2023.
Hochul has employed consulting firms Deloitte and Boston Consulting Group in preparing her State of the State address, an arrangement that The New York Times in April 2023 called "unusual, and possibly novel". In December 2023, Hochul vetoed legislation to ban non-compete agreements. Business interests lobbied her to veto it while labor supported it, arguing that non-compete agreements harm workers' interests.
In February 2024, during the Israeli invasion of Gaza, Hochul was the keynote speaker at a United Jewish Appeal-Federation of New York event. During her speech, she made remarks implying that Israel had a right to destroy Gaza in response to the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel: "If Canada someday ever attacked Buffalo, I'm sorry, my friends, there would be no Canada the next day." Following angry responses from a wide range of parties—including public officials and the Buffalo chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace—Hochul apologized for her "inappropriate analogy".
In March 2024, Hochul instituted a policy in coordination with Eric Adams to deploy 750 National Guard soldiers to the NYC subway system and empower them to conduct random bag checks on subway-goers. She also put forth legislation to allow judges to ban criminals from riding the subway. In May 2024, Hochul was criticized for saying at a business conference that minority children growing up in the Bronx "don't even know what the word 'computer' is." She later apologized, saying she misspoke and regretted her remark.
In June 2024, Hochul indefinitely halted implementation of a congestion pricing plan in the most congested parts of Manhattan just weeks before it was to go into effect. The plan was approved in 2019 and was expected to bring in $1 billion in revenue per year, making it the MTA's largest source of funding. At the time of the cancellation, the MTA had already purchased $500 million for equipment needed for congestion pricing and earmarked $15 billion for projects it expected to fund with the revenue. Hochul proposed raising the city's payroll tax for business owners to cover the lost revenue from the cancellation of the congestion pricing, which New York lawmakers declined to consider. Her decision received widespread backlash, especially from state lawmakers, business leaders, and climate activists. Hochul defended her sudden decision to block the congestion pricing plan based in part on conversations with New Yorkers, particularly from a Manhattan diner, and said the plan would "suck the vitality out of this city when we're still fighting for our comeback". Lawmakers said her plan to raise payroll taxes to cover the lost revenue ran contrary to her reason for halting the program and that the sudden tax hike would incapacitate the city's post-COVID-19 economic recovery. Democratic Senate Deputy Leader Michael Gianaris condemned how the program was derailed "at the last possible moment" before giving lawmakers less than 48 hours to create an alternative funding plan, calling it "irresponsible" and "inconsistent with principles of good governance". Senator Zellnor Myrie called it "incomprehensible" that Hochul claimed to care about cost of living while proposing a tax hike. In November 2024, Hochul revived the congestion pricing plan with the charge for most passenger vehicles reduced from $15 to $9; it was implemented on January 5, 2025.
In June 2024, Hochul proposed banning face masks on the New York City Subway in response to groups of protesters she said were conducting antisemitic acts and confronting people while covering their faces. Organizations such as the New York Civil Liberties Union criticized the proposal as a means to target protesters who hide their identities to avoid legal or professional repercussions, saying it would be selectively used to "arrest, doxx, surveil, and silence people of color and protesters the police disagree with".
In July 2024, Hochul said she intends to run for reelection as governor in 2026.
In September 2024, Hochul signed The Retail Worker Safety Act. In December 2024, Hochul vetoed a bill sponsored by Senator Joseph Addabbo Jr. that would speed up the licensing of three new casinos in Queens and signed a law capping out-of-pocket costs for EpiPens at $100 yearly.
In January 2025, Hochul announced a proposal to provide free tuition for specific associate degree programs at State and City University of New York schools. In February, she refused an extradition request from Louisiana for a New York doctor who had been indicted in Louisiana after mailing abortion pills to a woman in Louisiana, who allegedly forced her pregnant minor daughter to take them. Also in 2025, Hochul directed CUNY to take down a job listing for a Palestinian studies teaching position at Hunter College. In December 2025, Ontario premier Doug Ford and Hochul signed a memorandum of understanding that made the New York Power Authority and Ontario Power Generation work together to advance nuclear energy technology.
Hochul did not endorse anyone in the 2025 New York City Democratic mayoral primary. On September 14, 2025, she endorsed Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani in the general election. On January 8, 2026, Mamdani and Hochul announced a plan to increase spending by $1.7 billion to provide universal pre-kindergarten statewide and universal 3K care in New York City, create a free childcare program for two-year-olds in New York City, and expand childcare subsidies.
Time magazine listed Hochul as one of its top 100 climate leaders in its "Time100 Climate 2025". Hochul wrote in Time that New York will not wait for the federal government to ensure a cleaner and greener environment, saying: "Since I took office in 2021, we have seen once-in-a-century storms become routine. It is up to all of us to work together to reverse this for the good of all of us, our children, and their children. Time is running short. But we must address this critical situation in a way that ensures affordability for those paying the rates and grid reliability so the lights and heat stay on."
In January 2026, Hochul signed an executive order allowing hospitals to break the 2026 New York City nurses strike by hiring staff in their place. Travel nurses said that during this period they worked $9,000 week-long contracts, and hospitals spent $100,000 hiring strikebreakers. Striking nurses marched on Hochul's office in protest, but she extended her order several times, citing patient safety issues. Many nurses criticized her for alleviating pressure on hospitals during the strike. Nurses at the Mount Sinai and Montefiore systems reached a three-year contract agreement on February 9. Nurses at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital reached a three-year contract agreement on February 20.
In June 2026, Hochul launched an exploratory committee to study a potential joint New York City-Lake Placid bid for the 2042 Winter Olympics.
