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<\/p>\nNEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) — Aides to President Donald Trump have spent the days following Zohran Mamdani\u2019s victory in the New York City mayoral race reviewing federal funds that benefit the city to potentially suspend or cancel, a White House official said, highlighting the threat of retribution over the democratic socialist\u2019s win.<\/p>\n
The administration is waiting on Trump to green-light any funding freeze, according to the official, who discussed the preparations on condition of anonymity before the president makes a decision. The White House and the mayor-elect\u2019s transition team have not been in correspondence, the official added.<\/p>\n
The White House official didn\u2019t detail specific programs that could be on the chopping block if Trump, who repeatedly sought to rally voters against Mamdani ahead of the election, follows through on threats to pull funding from the city.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will be reaching out to the White House as we prepare to actually take office because this is a relationship that will be critical to the success of the city,\u201d Mamdani said in an interview with NBC New York that aired Tuesday. \u201cI\u2019ll say that I\u2019m here to work for the benefit of everyone that calls this city home, and wherever there\u2019s a possibility for working together towards that end, I\u2019m ready, and if it\u2019s to the expense of those New Yorkers, I\u2019ll fight it.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The city is also home to the Democratic Party\u2019s leaders in both the US House and Senate, making it a target for political retaliation from Trump and his allies.<\/p>\n
Photo credit Adam Gray<\/p>\n
Mamdani was elected last week as the 111th mayor of New York after campaigning on a staunchly progressive platform that includes freezing the rent on more than 1 million stabilized apartments, providing universal child care, funding free buses and operating city-owned grocery stores \u2014 an agenda he aims to pay for with new taxes on corporations and the highest earners.<\/p>\n
That message rattled New York\u2019s business and financial elite \u2014 and many of its most prominent Democrats \u2014 sparking a furious pushback. Former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg News parent Bloomberg LP, endorsed former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, one of Mamdani\u2019s opponents, and contributed to a political action committee supporting his candidacy.<\/p>\n
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The White House and the mayor-elect\u2019s transition team have not been in correspondence, the official added.<\/p>\n
Photo credit Frank Piscani via USA Today Network\/Imagn Images<\/p>\n
In his victory speech last week, Mamdani directly addressed the president.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, Donald Trump, since I know you\u2019re watching, I have four words for you: \u2018Turn the volume up,\u2019 \u201d he said, adding: \u201cTo get to any of us, you will have to get through all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump during the campaign repeatedly assailed Mamdani as a \u201ccommunist\u201d and warned his election would be devastating to New York\u2019s status as the world\u2019s financial capital. A native New Yorker, the president pushed voters to coalesce behind Cuomo, who ran as an independent after losing the Democratic primary to Mamdani, and tried to pressure other candidates, including Republican Curtis Sliwa, to drop out.<\/p>\n
Mamdani may also face pushback from New York Governor Kathy Hochul, who would have to approve his proposed tax increases. At an annual gathering of state lawmakers in Puerto Rico last weekend, she reiterated her opposition to raising taxes.<\/p>\n
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Zohran Mamdani during an election night event in the Brooklyn borough of New York on Nov. 4.<\/p>\n
Photo credit Adam Gray<\/p>\n
Funding Threat
Mamdani\u2019s election now offers the president a chance to increase his scrutiny of the country\u2019s most populous city, setting up a clash over policies on the economy, crime and immigration that will be closely watched ahead of next year\u2019s midterm elections.<\/p>\n
After the election, Trump said in an interview on Fox News that he wanted to see \u201cthe new mayor do well, because I love New York\u201d but cautioned Mamdani to be \u201crespectful of Washington\u201d if he wanted to be successful in office.<\/p>\n
If Trump does make good on earlier threats to reduce funding that would be a major hit to the city \u2014 and New York state \u2014 as they grapple with the economic fallout from his cuts to federal agencies and a US government shutdown now in its second month.<\/p>\n
New York City received almost $10 billion in federal funds in fiscal year 2025, comprising 8.3% of total spending for its operating budget, according to the city\u2019s comptroller\u2019s office. That funding went toward education, housing, social services and other programs for low-income households.<\/p>\n
The city is also home to the Democratic Party\u2019s leaders in both the US House and Senate, making it a target for political retaliation from Trump and his allies.<\/p>\n
Yet cuts to key programs in Democratic-leaning areas also come with political risk.<\/p>\n
On Oct. 1, the government shutdown\u2019s first day, the White House halted $18 billion in New York infrastructure funding, citing concerns over diversity and inclusion practices. New York is investing significantly in transit-related projects to ease congestion and facilitate necessary upgrades to aging systems, with federal funding providing key support.<\/p>\n
The moves sparked a political backlash against Trump-endorsed Republican candidates in commuter-rich portions of neighboring New Jersey, which swung away from the GOP as Democrats won the state\u2019s tightly-contested gubernatorial election by a larger margin than polls had forecast.<\/p>\n