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The following is the transcript of an interview with New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, that aired on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" on July 19, 2026.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Welcome back to Face the Nation. We go now to the Governor of New York, Kathy Hochul. Good morning to you, Governor.

MARGARET BRENNAN: You've got a big day, World Cup finals in nearby New Jersey. I know you'll be attending those. So will the President of the United States, the President of Mexico, the Canadian Prime Minister. Given the threat environment, are you confident in the security measures?

GOV. HOCHUL: Absolutely. We've worked so close with our federal, state, and local partners in law enforcement. We have been preparing for this for literally over a year, over 1,000 exercises, tabletopping all the scenarios. So, we're with the best, and particularly with NYPD, the- the world's greatest police force. I feel very confident in our security, and we're so happy to welcome the eyes of the world. The entire planet is going to be watching what is happening right here in the New York City area. So, it's exciting, very exciting time for us.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Truly, billions watching, and we will be too. Governor, I want to ask you about a decision that you made this past week that made very big headlines. You signed an executive order to ban large-scale data centers for a year. These are those big buildings that help to power artificial intelligence technology centers. It was just a few months ago you said data centers were a local decision for municipalities. What- what changed for you?

GOV. HOCHUL: I would say what changed was talking to the localities and realizing they don't have the negotiating ability to- or have the clout to be able to demand that their communities benefit from this in a more dramatic way. They also don't have the ability to insist that these companies bring their own power, or pay more for the grid. They don't have an ability to say no to tax breaks, and so I decided that I could do much more, especially in- and especially flooding the zone is what's happening now. We have over 30 applicants, so in a very short time, I changed my position, saying, "You know what? The state has to lead here, but it's not about being the first. It's about being the first to get it right." And we will get it right over the course of this year and help those localities negotiate the right way, make sure we're keeping track of how much water is being consumed, doing a study of that during this year, but also insisting that these companies, and they're welcome with the conditions and the rules that we set forth, that they also contribute to the larger grid because this is a huge tax on our grid. And I want to make sure that the power is there- unlimited power is there for the large companies that are creating jobs, like the Micron that we recruited here with 50,000 jobs. So we'll get the right balance. But I'll tell you this, people want protection. New Yorkers want protection. There's a lot of anxiety. Companies want certainty. We'll give them both.