DHS is going to have lots of trouble defending this NYC grant cut. Politically, there are two big problems. 1) A 40% cut seems to make no sense on the face of it. 2) The DHS decision, according to the papers this morning, seems to be based on one determination that is very easy to make fun of–that NYC has no national icons. Add in Chertoff’s already weakened political state, and it looks even worse for DHS. Rep. Pete King is pledging to make Chertoff’s life miserable, and there is every reason to believe that he will.