New York state will apply for a federal program for unemployment money now that the state won�t have to come up with additional funds to cover a portion of what the Trump administration had originally proposed, state officials said Friday.

Since �the federal government has blinked and will no longer make states provide funding they do not have, New York state will apply for the Lost Wages Assistance program,� Budget Director Robert Mujica said in a statement.

President Donald Trump had signed an executive order earlier this month making money available from a Federal Emergency Management Agency fund. It was announced as a $400-per-week benefit, but put the onus on the states to pay $100 a week of that amount.

At the time, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo called the idea of cash-strapped New York coming up with the additional funds �laughable.� The U.S. Department of Labor issued guidance last week saying states would not have to contribute that money.

Trump�s order came after a $600-per-week federal unemployment benefit expired at the end of July, without a new bill for pandemic relief being reached.

Mujica noted that in his statement.

�Make no mistake, this does not absolve Washington from doing its job, and they must pass a comprehensive aid package that provides a stable extension of unemployment benefits, repeals the SALT cap and supports local and state governments. Anything else would simply be unacceptable,� he said.

(AP)