{"id":246961,"date":"2026-05-28T21:50:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T21:50:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/246961\/"},"modified":"2026-05-28T21:50:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T21:50:11","slug":"mamdani-unveils-government-efficiency-panel-but-its-got-nothing-to-do-with-fighting-fraud-despite-doge-like-name","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/246961\/","title":{"rendered":"Mamdani unveils ‘government efficiency’ panel \u2014 but it’s got nothing to do with fighting fraud despite DOGE-like name"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mayor Zohran Mamdani unveiled a \u201cCommission on Government Efficiency\u201d Thursday \u2014 but it\u2019s got nothing to do with cutting waste and fraud despite its DOGE-like name.<\/a><\/p>\n

Mamdani said COGE \u2014 unlike the federal Department of Government Efficiency\u00a0previously led by billionaire Elon Musk for the Trump administration<\/a> \u2014 will focus on \u201cunlocking the full potential of city government,\u201d instead of trimming the fat.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we are speaking about is a sincere fulfillment of a vision that ensures that city government is operating with the same level of focus that a working-class New Yorker is when they\u2019re trying to balance their belts,\u201d Hizzoner told reporters in Queens. <\/p>\n

Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced a new \u201cCommission on Government Efficiency.\u201d Michael Nagle for NY Post<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd that means looking at the processes we have, that means looking at the procedures of city government, and that means looking at anything we can do to deliver a more efficient and more excellent government.\u201d<\/p>\n

The new commission \u2014 chaired by longtime ally of ex-Mayor Bill de Blasio and Mamdani adviser Patrick Gaspard <\/a>\u2014 will be tasked with proposing ballot measures to voters that have the vague directive of \u201cimproving efficiency\u201d and \u201cmodernizing city government.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Commission on Government Efficiency will take a hard look at how city government functions and identify the reforms we need to deliver faster, smarter and more effectively for working people,\u201d Mamdani said.<\/p>\n

Ann Cheng, another de Blasio administration alum, who also served under former Mayor Eric Adams, will serve as executive director.<\/p>\n

The panel\u2019s creation comes with the democratic socialist putting the kibosh on one of his predecessor\u2019s pet projects, Adams\u2019 so-called zombie \u201ccharter revision commission,\u201d<\/a> which lived on into Mamdani\u2019s tenure.<\/p>\n

The \u201cCommission on Government Efficiency\u201d will be chaired by Mamdani adviser Patrick Gaspard. Christopher Sadowski<\/p>\n

Mamdani had been openly critical of Adams\u2019 commission, which was tasked with advancing proposals on the November ballot \u2014 including about whether New York City should adopt an open primary system, and also regarding ways to combat antisemitism and other hate crimes.<\/p>\n

Political insiders believe open primaries would make narrow the chances of another far-left pol like Mamdani getting elected, as it would expand the voter base outside party lines, to independent voters, who tend to skew more moderate.<\/p>\n

Follow live updates on Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s socialist agenda and the latest in NYC politics<\/a><\/p>\n

State Democrats, as part of New York\u2019s new budget, gave Mamdani the power to kill his predecessor\u2019s attempt to makes changes to the city charter after leaving office.<\/p>\n

Good government group Citizens Union slammed Mamdani for rushing his own charter review commission.<\/p>\n

The commission\u2019s name is based on the Trump administration\u2019s Department of Government Efficiency, which was led by Elon Musk. AP<\/p>\n

\u201cThe charter commission announced by Mayor Zohran Mamdani intends to focus on a set of important and timely reforms, but if it seeks to put charter reform questions before voters in November, it will have less time to seek public input, conduct research, and deliberate than even the highly criticized, rushed commission established by Eric Adams in 2024,\u201d the group said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile promoting government efficiency is a laudable goal, the commission must show that its efforts do not come at the expense of careful research, public engagement, and transparency, which New Yorkers deserve.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tStart your day with all you need to know\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMorning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Mamdani defended the panel\u2019s obscure mandate, and took a shot at DOGE when pressed by reporters.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just the name and what it should have been, you know. I think government efficiency\u2014these are words that somehow have been understood as if they are Republican priorities, when in fact they are the priorities of anyone who believes in the public sector,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd yet Elon Musk took that language and used it to cut as many jobs that were as critical as possible for so many of the neediest people across the country and across the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Notable members of the board are Mamdani union confidante Henry Garrido, the head of DC37, and the mayor\u2019s business leader whisperer Kathy Wylde, who just recently stepped down as CEO of Partnership for New York.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mayor Zohran Mamdani unveiled a \u201cCommission on Government Efficiency\u201d Thursday \u2014 but it\u2019s got nothing to do with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":246962,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[302,43561,2411,57,9,24,55,54,56,58,82],"class_list":["post-246961","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-city-hall","tag-doge","tag-elon-musk","tag-metro","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-new-york-city-headlines","tag-new-york-city-news","tag-ny","tag-us-news","tag-zohran-mamdani"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246961","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=246961"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246961\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/246962"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=246961"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=246961"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=246961"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}