New York Republican Representative Nicole Malliotakis is calling on pop superstar Taylor Swift and NFL star Travis Kelce to cover the cost of police protection for their reported wedding at Madison Square Garden this Friday. In a post on X Thursday, the Staten Island and Brooklyn lawmaker argued that the couple should reimburse the New York Police Department for the 130 officers assigned to the event each day.
“Taylor Swift & Travis Kelce should reimburse NYPD for the 130 officers needed per day to keep their multi-million dollar, thousand person wedding at MSG safe,” Malliotakis wrote. She added that “our officers are already working overtime for 4th of July festivities & NYC taxpayers should NOT be on the hook.”
The wedding, expected to draw up to 1,000 guests, is set for Friday evening at the iconic Manhattan arena, which can hold up to 22,000 people for concerts. A law enforcement official briefed on security plans told the Associated Press that a smaller rehearsal dinner will take place Thursday night at the Infosys Theater inside Madison Square Garden. The couple got engaged in August, roughly two years after they began dating.
New York City officials have not confirmed the event directly but have made veiled references. Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) released a video Wednesday advising New Yorkers to stay safe during a heat wave, including if they are “renting out MSG to get married — hypothetically.” Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch also acknowledged the event Wednesday, saying she would “be remiss not to mention” an arena event Friday that her department is “tracking.” She added, “The NYPD will, of course, have a detail in place. But I am not going to go into more specifics on that at this time.”
An internal NYPD memo obtained by the New York Post confirms that roughly 130 officers will be stationed outside the Garden on both Thursday and Friday. Crews have been seen unloading equipment near the venue, and a large carpet was briefly placed outside one entrance before being removed, according to the AP.
Swift and Kelce have made a significant charitable gesture ahead of their wedding, donating $26 million to 20 charities, including some based in New York, the AP reported Thursday. Despite this, Malliotakis’s demand highlights ongoing tensions over public spending on high-profile private events, a theme that resonates in a city where police overtime costs are a perennial budget issue.
The dispute echoes broader debates over taxpayer-funded security for celebrities and politicians, similar to controversies that have arisen around other major events. For context, recent political rifts have emerged on Capitol Hill, such as when a group of rogue Republicans joined Democrats to bypass leadership on floor votes, underscoring the partisan divides that often spill into local policy debates like this one.
As New York City braces for the Fourth of July holiday, the NYPD is already stretched thin. Malliotakis’s call for reimbursement may gain traction among fiscal conservatives, but it remains unclear whether Swift and Kelce will agree to cover the costs. The couple has not publicly responded to the lawmaker’s demand.
