Attorney General Letitia James on Monday signaled she was ready to take the federal government to court if designating New York City an "anarchist jurisdiction" would lead to cuts in federal funding. 

James in a statement called the designation and an attempt to distract voters from the ongoing crisis of the coronavirus pandemic. 

"This designation is nothing more than a pathetic attempt to scare Americans into voting for a commander-in-chief who is actually incapable of commanding our nation," she said.

"President Trump failed to listen to scientists, failed to steer our economy through this pandemic, and has repeatedly failed to bring our nation together. The president should be prepared to defend this illegal order in court, which hypocritically lays the groundwork to defund New York and the very types of law enforcement President Trump pretends to care about. We have beat the president and the illegal actions of his DOJ in court before and have no doubt we will beat them again."

Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington were also given the same designation as New York City after protests this year over police brutality and racial inequality. 

Gov. Andrew Cuomo in a conference call with reporters on Monday also doubted the legality of Trump cutting off funding for New York, comparing it to the unsuccessful effort to defund cities that do not coordinate law enforcement activities with federal immigration officials.