One sharp point of friction has stood out in the mostly collegial race among five Democrats vying in a June 23 primary for the chance to challenge Republican Rep. Mike Lawler in November.
It involves the work Cait Conley has done since leaving her government job in 2025 and launching a campaign for New York’s 17th Congressional District. Conley, a combat veteran who held national security posts in the Biden administration, has parlayed that experience into consulting jobs with two tech companies that hold U.S. military contracts.
A pair of articles in February cast scrutiny on that work by tying those contractors to a third tech company said to be aiding the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement push. And Beth Davidson, one of Conley’s rivals, has seized that issue, going after Conley in campaign ads and mailers by linking her to “Trump’s DHS & ICE” — an alarming claim for Democratic voters.
“Cait Conley? She’s on the payroll of two A.I. companies that help ICE to spy, track and target our communities,” declares a Davidson ad posted on Facebook on June 2.
Conley swung back on social media, accusing Davidson of lying and saying the two companies she works for — Hidden Level and Primer — play no role in federal immigration enforcement and had no contracts with either the Department of Homeland Security or Immigration and Customs Enforcement. She said the firms were focused solely on “keeping people safe.”
“As a decorated combat veteran with multiple combat tours, I’ve spent my whole career keeping American families safe,” Conley wrote on X. “To try to paint my work as anything else is a disgusting tactic.”
What Conley, Davidson said in interviews
Conley amplified that response in an interview with the USA TODAY Network, saying she was “incredibly proud” to work with a pair of companies whose technology helps state and local law enforcement agencies ensure “our families are safe from terror attacks when they go to a Yankees game, or a Knicks game, or a Taylor Swift concert.”
“I believe that people here in this district understand the importance of continued service,” she said. “What they don’t want are more political operatives and politicians hiding behind lies and distracting from real issues.”
“What they want are public servants who are going to get in there and solve real problems,” Conley added. “That is what I’m about.”
Davidson said in an interview that both firms “support the mission” of the Department of Homeland Security and collaborate with Palantir, a company that does have contracts with the Department of Homeland Security as well as other federal departments. Homeland Security houses the agencies that are waging the Trump administration’s deportation push: ICE and Customs and Border Protection.
“Those are serious red flags, I think, for voters,” Davidson said.
She pointed out Conley initially sought an extension on filing her latest financial disclosure form that would have delayed its public release until after the primary. Conley wound up submitting the report on May 19, and it showed that Hidden Level and Primer had paid her a combined $328,000 since the start of 2025.
Both candidates have blasted the aggressive tactics ICE has used under the Trump administration. Davidson helped draft a proposed Rockland County law to limit interaction with ICE by county agencies. Conley pledged to hold “ICE and Trump accountable for their crimes” and seek an overhaul of the agency if elected to Congress.
What do Hidden Level and Primer do?
Most of Conley’s reported income came from Hidden Level, a Syracuse-based company that builds sensors and radar that are used to detect drones and other low-altitude threats to airspace or public safety. Its gear was deployed at Stewart Air National Guard Base in Orange County in 2024 and 2025 after a spate of drone sightings.
Hidden Level has federal contracts with the Department of Defense but not with Homeland Security.
Conley reported $35,000 in consulting fees since January 2025 from Primer, an artificial intelligence firm based in San Francisco that enables government agencies and big companies to analyze vast streams of information.
Primer’s website says it helps Homeland Security sort through a flood of data for it to “secure borders, protect critical infrastructure, disrupt criminal networks, and respond to crises.” Whether that work is done directly or through Palantir was not immediately clear; a database of federal government contracts shows Primer has contracts with the Department of Defense but not Homeland Security.
In her interview, Conley said she brings “counterterrorism expertise” to her consulting but declined to give more details about what she does for Hidden Level and Primer. She had served as director for counterterrorism for the National Security Council during the first two years of the Biden administration. She worked for the remaining two years as a senior advisor to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
Davidson’s latest disclosure report listed her $72,000 salary as a county legislator and her freelance income as a political consultant, which totaled nearly $47,000 in 2025 but largely tapered off this year.
Chris McKenna covers government and politics for The Journal News and USA TODAY Network. Reach him at CMcKenna@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: NY-17 House race rivals Davidson, Conley clash over Conley’s tech jobs
Reporting by Chris McKenna, New York State Team / Rockland/Westchester Journal News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Chris McKenna, New York State Team | USA TODAY Network
