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Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey criticized the Trump administration’s immigration operations in Minnesota’s largest city, calling the surge of federal agents an “occupying force that has quite literally invaded our city,” CBS News reports.
Said Frey to CNN: “I never thought in a million years that we would be invaded by our own federal government.”
“The Justice Department is investigating whether Minnesota’s governor and the mayor of its largest city conspired to impede federal immigration officers,“ the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The probe examines the statements of Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey amid last week’s killing of a woman by an ICE agent, escalating a weekslong battle between the Trump administration and Minnesota’s Democratic leaders.”
Zohran Mamdani will make his first appearance on ABC‘s The View next week since he was sworn in as mayor of New York, Deadline reports.
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Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-NY) “has a word of warning for Zohran Mamdani, the New York City mayor she just helped to elect: Back off city politics,” the New York Times reports.
“Tension has quietly been growing between the two Democratic allies for weeks over who should succeed Ms. Velázquez in Congress as she retires after 32 years representing parts of Brooklyn and Queens.”
“But Ms. Velázquez pushed it into the open… when she formally endorsed Antonio Reynoso, the progressive Brooklyn borough president, as her successor, and cautioned the new mayor that his decision to campaign for Assemblywoman Claire Valdez, a fellow democratic socialist, could drive a wedge through the coalition that put him in office.”
“President Trump has a surprising phone pal: He and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani have texted back and forth recently,” Axios reports.
“The back-channeling between the democratic socialist mayor and Trump — who once derided Mamdani as a ‘communist’ — indicates their private communications have been more extensive than previously thought.”
“He failed on his campaign promises to tax the rich. Then city council members passed a budget without his blessing. Now his opponents are building a war chest that could be used to unseat him next year,” Bloomberg reports.
“Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is struggling to keep a grip on the third-largest US city and get its strained finances back on track, opening the door for a roster of potential candidates to take his spot in 2027.”
A friendly summit at New York’s City Hall with digital content creators and social media stars symbolized the new mayor’s attitude toward the changing news media, the New York Times reports.
“To those who insist that the era of big government is over, hear me when I say this: No longer will City Hall hesitate to use its power to improve New Yorkers’ lives. For too long, we have turned to the private sector for greatness, while accepting mediocrity from those who serve the public.”
— New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, quoted by Politico.
“In one of his first acts as mayor, Zohran Mamdani revoked nine executive orders his predecessor, Eric Adams, issued after his federal corruption indictment, a move that undid actions pertaining to everything from antisemitism and immigration to New York City’s horse carriage industry,” the New York Daily News reports.
“Mamdani said he picked the indictment date as the cutoff because, he suggested, executive actions Adams took after that were tainted.”
Said Mandani: “We have to reckon with why so many New Yorkers have turned away from politics over the last few months, the last few years, the last few decades, and that was a date that marked a moment when many New Yorkers decided that politics held nothing for them.”
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) referred to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D), who is the city’s first Muslim mayor, as “the enemy” after Mamdani chose to be sworn into office with his hand on the Quran, Mediaite reports.
Said Tuberville: “The enemy is inside the gates.”
“Zohran Mamdani’s swearing-in at City Hall on Thursday afternoon highlighted the full diversity of New York City and included a striking display of Jewish presence and pride during a historic change in leadership,” The Forward reports.
“In a scene rich with symbolism, Sen. Bernie Sanders, who once ran to become the nation’s first Jewish president, administered the oath of office to the city’s first Muslim mayor as Mamdani placed his hand on a Quran.”
“Looking on from the dais was Sen. Chuck Schumer, the highest-ranking elected Jewish official in the United States. Jewish actor Mandy Patinkin, who hosted Mamdani for Hanukkah, led a musical performance with elementary school students from Staten Island. A bagel and lox schmear even got a mention during Mamdani’s inaugural remarks.”
“I have been told that this is the occasion to reset expectations, that I should use this opportunity to encourage the people of New York to ask for little and expect even less. I will do no such thing. The only expectation I seek to reset is that of small expectations.”
— New York City Zohran Mamdani (D), quoted by Politico.
“Zohran Mamdani, the left-leaning populist who deployed a mix of charm, social media savvy and an unyielding focus on affordability to catapult him to political stardom, was officially sworn in as mayor of New York City early Thursday, just after the New Year’s Eve ball dropped in Times Square,” the New York Times reports.
“The ceremony, held underground at an abandoned showpiece of a subway station by City Hall, caps Mr. Mamdani’s yearlong rise from obscure state lawmaker to international figure, embodying the hopes of New Yorkers and Americans across the country who were enthralled by his journey to becoming the city’s first Muslim and first South Asian mayor.”
Politico: “Mamdani’s ambitious — and costly — platform was predicated on the idea that a left-leaning mayor can effectively lead a city that often appears ungovernable.”
“Any hiccup threatens to unravel his lofty goals of free child care, bus service and government-run supermarkets… The challenges facing Mamdani will begin immediately.”
Wall Street Journal: Five challenges Mamdani faces on day one.
New York Times: “Gleaming and ornate, symbolic keys to the City of New York have been awarded to individuals for a variety of achievements — landing a plummeting plane safely in the Hudson River, writing influential punk music, winning a basketball championship. And since 2023, the keys have been supplied by Schoppy’s, a century-old trophy and plaque company.”
“In New Jersey.”
“On Monday, Mayor Eric Adams, who has had to beat back accusations that he himself is based in New Jersey, handed out keys to organizations working to prevent violence across the five boroughs. The ceremony was one of his final public acts in the waning days of his term.”
“New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s inauguration will feature Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, the two most prominent leaders of the Democratic Party’s progressive movement,” CNN reports.
“Mamdani, who will be publicly sworn in at a City Hall inauguration ceremony on New Year’s Day, will be introduced by fellow New Yorker Ocasio-Cortez.”
New York Magazine: “He is a brilliant political talent with dizzying ambitions to change the city. Is he ready for the actual job, though?”
“Zohran Mamdani will be sworn in as mayor at midnight on Jan. 1 inside the old abandoned City Hall subway station, Streetsblog has learned — an official act that symbolically kicks off a new era with a tribute to an older one as well as shows a commitment to transit riders.”
“Mamdani said he views the station as a symbol for the aims of his upcoming administration, including the transformative politics that built the subway in the first place.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
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