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Politico
3 days ago
- Politics
- Politico
Eric vs. Zohran is here
BATTLE ROYALE PART 2 BEGINS: Mayor Eric Adams kicked off his longshot reelection campaign today with a rally on the steps of City Hall, slamming likely Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani as out of touch and inexperienced as the mayor seeks to rehabilitate his flailing political career. 'This election is a choice between a candidate with a blue-collar and one with a suit and a silver spoon,' Adams said, referencing the 33-year-old state lawmaker who stunned the political establishment Tuesday with his presumptive victory over Andrew Cuomo. 'A choice between dirty fingernails and manicured nails. A choice between someone who delivered lower crime, the most jobs in history, the most new housing … and an assemblymember who did not pass a bill.' Adams was flanked by hundreds of supporters, including two aides whose homes were raided by the FBI in 2023, as he delivered an address that leaned into his personal history and three-and-a-half years at the helm of city government. Adams dropped out of the Democratic primary in April while facing federal bribery charges, instead opting to run in the general election on an independent ballot line. He now begins his uphill battle days after Mamdani — who, contrary to the mayor's claim, has passed four bills — won the first round of ranked-choice voting with backing from affluent white voters in Brooklyn and Queens. Mamdani pushed back on the mayor's criticisms. 'New Yorkers have been suffocated by a cost of living crisis and this mayor has taken almost every opportunity to exacerbate it, all while partnering with Donald Trump to tear our city apart,' he said in a statement, referencing Adams' support of federal immigration agencies. The mayor is polling abysmally for an incumbent, a station predicated by corruption allegations and his warm relationship with President Donald Trump, whose Department of Justice successfully moved to dismiss Adams' criminal case this spring. A recent survey conducted by the Manhattan Institute found the mayor trailing Mamdani in a general election and losing to the state lawmaker, Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa should the former governor run on an independent line of his own. The mayor's low standing was evidenced today by a dearth of institutional support from sitting elected officials. His emcee for the proceedings was former state Assemblymember Inez Dickens, who retired from her Harlem seat last year. His surrogates were predominantly religious leaders — a point driven home when a protester began shouting expletives at Adams. 'We utilize the letter F for faith,' Adams said in response. He recalled his time as a police captain and his first-term accomplishments — some of which he had more influence over than others — that include a dramatic drop in murders and shootings on his watch, a record level of affordable housing financed by his administration and a growing economy. Speaking over a steady din from niche protesters — many appearing to take issue with Adams' cinematic perp walk of accused murderer Luigi Mangione — Adams also recounted his low-income upbringing in Brooklyn and Queens, a biography that resonated during his first run with his erstwhile base of working-class Black and Latino voters. 'I always knew what struggle was,' he said. — Joe Anuta From the Capitol PPE PLOY: Ex-gubernatorial aide Linda Sun and her spouse are being accused of accepting kickbacks from PPE vendors she referred to the state during the Covid pandemic's peak, federal prosecutors said Thursday. Sun, a former staffer to Gov. Kathy Hochul and her predecessor, Andrew Cuomo, was arrested last year after allegedly leveraging her position to further the interests of the Chinese government. Her husband, Chris Hu, was also charged. The state Department of Health wired millions of dollars in 2020 to two PPE companies allegedly referred by Sun, who claimed they were recommended by the Chinese government, according to the new superseding indictment. In fact, both vendors had ties to Sun — and she and her husband expected to reap at least $8 million, the indictment alleges. 'When masks, gloves, and other protective supplies were hard to find, Sun abused her position of trust to steer contracts to her associates so that she and her husband could share in the profits,' Joseph Nocella Jr., U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a statement. Sun's lawyer, Jarrod L. Schaeffer, said she 'vehemently denies' the new allegations. 'Scrambling to develop new theories and shoving new charges into an indictment as trial looms is both unfortunate and telling, but it is also unsurprising given how this case has proceeded and the government's recent efforts to further delay trial in this case,' Schaeffer said in a statement, referencing prosecutors' recent request to push back the trial date. 'The newest allegations continue the government's trend of making and publicizing feverish accusations unmoored from the facts and evidence that we expect will actually come out at trial,' Schaeffer added. The case is slated to go to trial in November. — Maya Kaufman FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL HOCHUL STILL A NO ON RAISING TAXES: The governor is re-upping her pledge to block tax hikes, just as New York Democrats are settling on a mayoral nominee who plans to push for that. 'I have said that I will not raise income taxes on the people of our state,' Hochul said after an event today. 'I'm focused on affordability, and raising taxes on anyone does not accomplish that. I'm making sure that people who create jobs will stay here so we can have good-paying jobs.' Taxes on corporations and the rich are all but guaranteed to become a top issue in Albany next year if Mamdani wins the general election in November. He's seeking $10 billion from the state — far more than the $530 million in hikes Bill de Blasio failed to get from Albany in his first year as mayor. As POLITICO Pro reported yesterday, Hochul's unwillingness to raise taxes is likely to become a major issue in her own primary in twelve months. 'She's consistently gone into every year and taken off the table altogether the conversation around taxing the ultra-wealthy or big corporations,' Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado said of Hochul. 'She's taken these off the table in very absolutist ways. And I think it's a problem that has become the norm.' 'I would also note we have a $254 billion budget even before we get to taxes,' Delgado, who is challenging Hochul for reelection next year, said. 'There's a lot of money that's not going to the people who need it the most.' The dynamics of the 2026 gubernatorial primary promise to be different from those in play this week — Hochul has nowhere near as much baggage as Cuomo, and insurgents have historically struggled in statewide races. But the existence of around 440,000 Mamdani voters — almost half the 900,000 people who voted in the 2022 gubernatorial primary — presents a tempting starting point for a coalition. Hochul said today the results of New York City's mayoral primary are proof her own track record is popular — even though she and Mamdani could hardly be more different. 'I've been focused on affordability long before any recent election,' she said. But she's not rushing to endorse Mamdani, adding, 'I truly am not focused on the politics. We're six months away from Inauguration Day, and that will determine who I'm working with for the next four years.' — Bill Mahoney IN OTHER NEWS — ZOHRAN TALKS VICTORY: In a post-election interview, the likely Democratic nominee for mayor said he did not expect to have such a decisive victory. (The New York Times) — $87 PER VOTE: Cuomo and the super PAC behind him spent almost $90 per vote, far exceeding the $19 per vote spent by Mamdani and his backers. (THE CITY) — PRO-CUOMO POLL: A survey from a polling firm favored by Cuomo allies shows the former governor in a 'dead heat' with Mamdani if he decides to run in the general election. (POTLICO Pro) — ADAMS MEETS BIZ LEADERS: Adams met with top real estate and business leaders — including Whitney Tilson — as he tries to win support for his general election bid. (The New York Times) Missed this morning's New York Playbook? We forgive you. Read it here.
Politico
3 days ago
- Politics
- Politico
Eric Adams kicks off reelection campaign seeking improbable comeback story
NEW YORK — Mayor Eric Adams kicked off his long-shot reelection campaign with a rally on the steps of City Hall Thursday, slamming likely Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani as out of touch and inexperienced as the mayor seeks to rehabilitate his flailing political career. 'This election is a choice between a candidate with a blue-collar and one with a suit and a silver spoon,' Adams said, referencing the 33-year-old state lawmaker who stunned the political establishment with his near victory over Andrew Cuomo Tuesday. 'A choice between dirty fingernails and manicured nails. A choice between someone who delivered lower crime, the most jobs in history, the most new housing … and an assemblymember who did not pass a bill.' Adams was flanked by hundreds of supporters, including two aides whose homes were raided by the FBI in 2023, as he delivered an address that leaned into his personal history and 3½ years at the helm of city government. Adamsdropped out of the Democratic primary in April while facing federal bribery charges, instead opting to run in the general election on an independent ballot line. He now begins his uphill battle days after Mamdani — who, contrary to the mayor's claim, has passed four bills — won the first round of ranked-choice voting with backing from affluent white voters in Brooklyn and Queens. The mayor is polling abysmally for an incumbent, a station predicated by corruption allegations and his warm relationship with President Donald Trump, whose Department of Justice successfully moved to dismiss Adams' criminal case this spring. A recent surveyconducted by the Manhattan Institute found the mayor trailing Mamdani in a general election and losing to the state lawmaker, Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa, should the former governor run on an independent line of his own. The mayor's low standing was evidenced Thursday by a dearth of institutional support from sitting elected officials. His emcee for the proceedings was former state Assemblymember Inez Dickens, who retired from her Harlem seat last year. And his surrogates were predominantly religious leaders — a point driven home when a protester who infiltrated the gathering began shouting expletives at Adams. 'We utilize the letter F for faith,' Adams said in response. One of the attending religious leaders, Moishe Indig, presides over an influential bloc of Orthodox Jewish voters in Brooklyn. He pledged to support Adams at a recent event, despite endorsing Cuomo in the primary. While his chances appear slim, Adams has a few attributes: He was a charismatic and dogged campaigner in 2021 — attributes he shares with his chief rival — and Mamdani's success has so rattled the city's business and real estate leaders that they are scrambling for a way to beat the democratic socialist in November. That fear could be channeled into a pecuniary lifeline for the mayor, whose campaign has lost out on millions of dollars from campaign regulators who denied him public matching funds. Speaking over a steady din from niche protesters — many appearing to take issue with Adams' cinematic perp walk of accused murderer Luigi Mangione — Adams recounted his low-income upbringing in Brooklyn and Queens, a biography that resonated during his first run with his erstwhile base of working-class Black and Latino voters. 'I always knew what struggle was,' he said. He recalled his time as a police captain and his first-term accomplishments — some of which he had more influence over than others — that include a dramatic drop in murders and shootings on his watch, a record level of affordable housing financed by his administration and a growing economy. He said he'd focus on driving down crime, launching a citywide mental health initiative and expanding workforce development during a second term, but didn't offer much in the way of details. A general election without Cuomo presents the most straightforward, albeit narrow, path for the mayor, who would have a shot at winning back Black voters wary of Mamdani. Those voters are among the most loyal Democrats. And Latino voters, who formed a load-bearing pillar of the mayor's 2021 coalition, broke for Mamdani Tuesday. Mamdani pushed back on the mayor's criticisms. 'New Yorkers have been suffocated by a cost of living crisis and this mayor has taken almost every opportunity to exacerbate it, all while partnering with Donald Trump to tear our city apart,' he said in a statement, referencing Adams' support of federal immigration agencies. In contrasting himself with Mamdani's promises of free childcare, fare-less buses and city-run grocery stores, Adams employed rhetoric placing him well to the right of the archetypal moderate Democrat being sought by the city's permanent government — an indicator of the mayor's flirtations with the GOP and MAGA luminaries that could cause him trouble over the next five months. 'There's no dignity in simply giving you everything for free. There's dignity in giving you a job so you can provide for the family and the opportunities you deserve,' Adams said. 'This is not a city of handouts.'
Washington Post
3 days ago
- Business
- Washington Post
Republicans, quit blaming the CBO for those big, ugly numbers
Jessica Riedl is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. As Republican tax-cut legislation struggles to get through Congress under the weight of its staggering cost, party leaders have responded to criticism by trying to shift the blame. They're assailing the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office for the transgression of honestly describing the ugly $2.4 trillion reality of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, as the legislation is titled.
Boston Globe
4 days ago
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Bowdoin nepo baby as class warrior: Zohran Mamdani embodies the left's ‘luxury beliefs'
On Tuesday night, Zohran Mamdani, a 33-year-old socialist and state Assembly member, declared victory in the Democratic mayoral primary over Andrew Cuomo, New York's former governor who was long thought to be the front-runner, and a field of other candidates. Mamdani's energetic campaign was able to sell enough optimism to obscure the utopian nature of his socialist platform, which will be conveniently funded by wealthy residents. And Cuomo was unable to effectively challenge Mamdani on the finer points of his fanciful promises. Mamdani will face incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who's running as an independent, in the general election this fall. Get The Gavel A weekly SCOTUS explainer newsletter by columnist Kimberly Atkins Stohr. Enter Email Sign Up Mamdani's promises, like city-owned grocery stores, free child care, and a utopian rent freeze, would no doubt push out workers and capital, while scaring away big business, if he actually made good on them. And even though the New York Police Department has a staffing crisis, Mamdani has Advertisement Rob Henderson, a Globe Opinion contributing writer and Manhattan Institute senior fellow, has brunt of progressive policies. Voters signaled as much. According to polls A Manhattan Institute poll ahead of the election Advertisement No matter: Under a Mamdani mayorship, cops will have other priorities. Mamdani, who's been in But will a social worker restrain someone who is threatening to attack me? Can they stop a man from Having more mental health support on the subways might be helpful but only if there's a stronger police presence as well. Because sometimes mental health issues and addiction do turn into full-blown crime. Mamdani's movement typifies the kind of self-soothing progressivism thais another example that has come to define the Democratic Party, and that has been sold to young liberals as the path to justice. In reality, it's just the newest iteration of political elitism, where a utopian vision of crime-solving — and just about everything else — is championed by people who won't feel the full consequences. The people's warrior is just a nepo baby who graduated from Bowdoin. But the people he purports to fight for knew better. While Mamdani did well with white voters, he struggled in predominantly Black areas like the Bronx and Southeast Queens. These voters tend to live in higher-crime areas of the city and probably don't want to gamble their safety and economic well-being so that the Advertisement Carine Hajjar is a Globe Opinion writer. She can be reached at
Fast Company
4 days ago
- Business
- Fast Company
Trump's Big Beautiful Bill would transfer wealth from young to older Americans. Here's how
U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tax-cut legislation would effectively transfer wealth from younger Americans to older generations, nonpartisan analysts say. Though the bill contains tax breaks for parents, newborns, private-school students and other younger Americans, those benefits would be outweighed by the trillions of dollars it would add to the $36.2 trillion national debt, they say. That could push down economic growth over the long term and leave younger people saddled with higher taxes and mortgage payments. 'Future generations are kind of left holding the bag,' said Kent Smetters, director of the Penn Wharton Budget Model. The nonpartisan research organization found that a 40-year-old earning close to the median income would effectively lose $7,500 over the course of a lifetime if the bill became law. A 70-year-old with the same income, by contrast, would end up $17,500 richer. Several factors contribute to this disparity. Younger workers, who typically earn less, would not benefit as much from the bill's income tax cuts compared to those at the peak of their earning years. They would also be more exposed to cutbacks in student aid and the Medicaid health program, which covers four out of 10 hospital births in the United States. 'In the short term the benefits are certainly tilted towards higher earners, which is often a good proxy for age,' said Jessica Riedl of the conservative Manhattan Institute. But the biggest factor, analysts say, is the $3 trillion the bill would add to the national debt. That is likely to push up interest rates in the years to come and require the government to devote a growing portion of its budget to debt service rather than other purposes. 'There is an obvious intergenerational transfer here,' said John Ricco of the Yale Budget Lab, which found that the bill would add $4,000 to the annual cost of a home mortgage in the year 2055, when today's newborns will be 30 years old. Republican lawmakers say the bill, which passed the House of Representatives and is now pending in the Senate, would help younger Americans by putting Medicaid on a more sustainable footing and boosting economic growth and entrepreneurship, which would help younger people entering the workforce. The bill also follows through on Trump's campaign promises by carving out new tax breaks for tipped income and overtime pay, which Republicans say could help younger workers in service and hourly wage jobs. SAVINGS ACCOUNTS The bill also would set up $1,000 savings accounts for newborns and expand a child tax break, though the details differ between the House and Senate versions of the bill. No. 2 House Republican Representative Steve Scalise said after the bill's passage in May that the legislation would increase take-home pay for a median income household with two children by $4,000 to $5,000. That calculation, however, does not factor in the increased costs many lower- and middle-income families would have to pay for health care, student loans and groceries due to the bill's cutbacks in those areas. The Congressional Budget Office and other outside analysts have found that those costs would outweigh any savings those households might gain from tax cuts, while the child tax credit and other targeted tax breaks also would not be fully available to low-income families. That pattern holds true for poor Americans of all ages. The bill includes a targeted tax break for people over 65 promised by Trump during last year's election, but many do not pay enough income tax to qualify for it, said Brendan Duke of the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. 'The tax cuts basically do nothing for the lower-income half of seniors,' he said. Still, those seniors benefit from another Trump campaign promise, as the bill spares Medicare, the health plan for seniors, and Social Security, the U.S. pension program, from the sort of cost-cutting it applies to Medicaid. Medicare and Social Security are growing rapidly as the population ages, crowding out other government spending, and are projected to run short of funds in 2033. But Trump and his Democratic rivals have both vowed to shield the two politically popular programs from restructuring, which will leave future generations to confront the problem. 'I think ultimately Republican and Democratic lawmakers have been engaged in intergenerational theft for a long time,' Riedl said.
