House Republicans are working to make Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City and a self-identified democratic socialist, a prominent figure in the government shutdown battle from hundreds of miles away.
Their argument is that Democratic members of Congress who have repeatedly rejected the GOP-crafted, House-passed “clean” stopgap to fund the government through Nov. 21 are afraid of the progressives in the Democratic base — exemplified by Mamdani.
Democrats have called on Republicans to negotiate with them on health care, particularly the extension of enhanced ObamaCare subsidies that expire at the end of the year, before voting for a stopgap to fund the government.
Mamdani, currently a New York state assemblymember, was the dominant topic in a Thursday press conference with House Republican leaders and Republican members from New York.
“They know that they have to continue to act belligerently in order to gain the favor of the far left,” Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Thursday, pointing to Mamdani being likely to win Tuesday’s mayoral election, calling him “a 34-year-old, unproven, untested socialist.”
“It’s the clearest sign yet that the Democrats’ radical Marxist wing is winning the battle for control of their party. Look at where the energy is,” Johnson said, adding that New York is a “bellwether for the rest of the nation.”
Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.) accused Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) of being “terrified” of the success of the “Marxist agenda in America’s largest city.”
“They have built their political survival on appeasing the far left, and now our entire country is being held hostage by it,” Tenney said.
Jeffries endorsed Mamdani last week, the day before early voting started in the race, after months of speculation — saying in a written statement that he has “areas of principled disagreement” with Mamdani.
Schumer has not endorsed Mamdani. When asked if he would vote for Mamdani, he told reporters on Tuesday: “Look, the bottom line is very simple. I have a good relationship with him, and we’re continuing to talk.”
As Republicans work to make Mamdani the face of the Democratic Party, it does not matter to much to their shutdown message whether the Democratic leaders endorse him or not.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) said that Schumer and Jeffries “are scared to death of that far left extremist, radical socialist Marxist movement in their own party starting in New York.”
“And because Mamdani has taken off there, it is affecting real people everywhere in America — devastating consequences,” Scalise said, pointing to federal workers missing paychecks.
