In a move that underscores his intention to bring sweeping reform and progressive ideals to New York City government, Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani announced Wednesday that former Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Lina Khan will serve as one of the co-leads of his transition team.
The appointment of Khan — one of the most prominent and polarizing figures of the Biden administration’s economic agenda — immediately sent ripples through political and business circles, marking the first major personnel decision of Mamdani’s post-election period.
Khan, who served as FTC chair from 2021 to 2025, will join three veteran City Hall officials to guide Mamdani’s transition into office. The team will be responsible for staffing key leadership roles, drafting the incoming administration’s policy priorities, and setting the tone for what Mamdani has called “a new era of people-centered governance.”
“New Yorkers sent a clear message this week that it’s time to build a city that working people can actually afford,” Khan said in a statement released by Mamdani’s office. “I’m excited to help Zohran build a team that will usher in a new era for New York City and set a new model for Democratic governance.”
For Mamdani, who will become the city’s first socialist mayor, Khan’s appointment represents both a symbolic and practical step toward realizing the ambitious promises he made during his campaign — from tackling the housing crisis to challenging corporate influence in local politics.
“Our transition leaders will help build a City Hall committed to excellence, integrity, and a hunger to solve old problems with new solutions,” Mamdani said. “Together, we will show the nation how government can deliver when we put the people, not billionaires, first.”
A Bold — and Controversial — Choice
The decision to tap Khan immediately drew sharp reactions from across the political spectrum.
During her time as FTC chair under President Biden, Khan became a lightning rod for debate over the future of antitrust law and consumer protection. Her tenure was defined by aggressive efforts to rein in corporate power, especially among Big Tech firms such as Amazon, Meta, and Google.
Under her leadership, the FTC launched a series of high-profile lawsuits challenging mergers it deemed monopolistic, while introducing new regulations aimed at ending “junk fees” and restricting mandatory arbitration clauses in consumer contracts.
Progressives hailed Khan as a hero — a principled reformer willing to confront what they saw as unchecked corporate greed. But to her critics in the business community, she was an ideologue whose regulatory overreach stifled innovation and hurt investors.
Her confrontational approach made her one of the most divisive figures in Washington’s economic policymaking establishment — and her move to City Hall, even in an advisory role, is likely to generate intense scrutiny from New York’s powerful corporate sector.
Khan’s Return to New York Roots
Before her tenure in Washington, Khan was a professor at Columbia Law School, where she gained national attention for her 2017 Yale Law Journal article, “Amazon’s Antitrust Paradox.” The piece helped redefine the debate over how antitrust law should apply to the digital economy and was widely credited with reshaping progressive thinking about market concentration.
She later worked as counsel to FTC Commissioner Rohit Chopra, now the head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), where the two built the intellectual foundation of what would later become the Biden administration’s anti-monopoly strategy.
Khan’s appointment to Mamdani’s team represents, in many ways, a homecoming — a return to the city where she taught, organized, and developed the policy framework that has come to define her.
“She understands the intersection of markets and morality,” said Dr. Anita Desai, a Columbia Law colleague. “Her joining Mamdani’s transition team signals that this administration is serious about confronting corporate power at the local level.”
Mamdani’s Vision for City Hall
Since declaring victory Tuesday night, Mamdani has moved quickly to assemble a team that reflects his campaign’s grassroots energy and ideological clarity. His platform — which includes rent freezes for two million New Yorkers, free citywide bus service, universal child care, and the creation of a Department of Community Safety to handle mental health calls — will require significant structural reorganization inside City Hall.
Bringing in Khan, a specialist in institutional reform, suggests Mamdani is preparing to build a more activist city government.
“Lina Khan is someone who doesn’t just manage systems — she challenges them,” said political analyst Michael Vargas. “Her presence could mean a serious push to rethink how New York regulates everything from housing to transportation to corporate subsidies.”
For Mamdani, who identifies as a democratic socialist, the appointment of Khan fits neatly within his broader political identity. He has long argued that government should serve as a counterweight to concentrated private power — a theme that has defined both his campaign and his public service career.
National Political Reverberations
The move also drew reactions from Washington and beyond. Former President Donald Trump, responding to Mamdani’s rise and the broader Democratic victories across several blue states, took to Truth Social to suggest that Republican losses were not the result of ideology but circumstance.
“‘TRUMP WASN’T ON THE BALLOT, AND SHUTDOWN, WERE THE TWO REASONS THAT REPUBLICANS LOST ELECTIONS TONIGHT, according to Pollsters,’” Trump posted on Tuesday night.
Trump’s message came amid speculation that Mamdani’s win — alongside a series of other progressive victories nationwide — represents a new wave of left-wing energy heading into the 2026 midterms.
Political strategists have already begun drawing comparisons between Mamdani’s populist coalition in New York and the grassroots movements that helped elect figures like Bernie Sanders in Vermont and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in the Bronx.
“Mamdani’s decision to bring Lina Khan into the fold sends a clear message,” said Democratic consultant Laura Paredes. “He’s not going to govern from the middle — he’s going to govern from conviction.”
The Battle Lines Ahead
Still, challenges await. New York City’s business leaders, real estate developers, and financial institutions — some of the most influential in the country — are expected to push back against Mamdani’s progressive agenda.
The Partnership for New York City, a coalition of major employers, issued a cautious statement Wednesday, congratulating the mayor-elect while warning against “policy experiments that could undermine the city’s economic competitiveness.”
Behind the scenes, however, some insiders expressed deeper concern. “If this is the team he’s assembling, it’s clear he intends to go to war with the business community,” said one corporate lobbyist who requested anonymity.
Yet Mamdani’s supporters see it differently. “This is exactly why we fought so hard for this win,” said Maria Torres, a volunteer with his campaign. “We didn’t elect Zohran to manage the status quo — we elected him to challenge it.”
An Unlikely Partnership for an Unprecedented Moment
For both Mamdani and Khan, the collaboration represents a convergence of two intellectual and political movements — one rooted in economic justice, the other in democratic socialism.
Whether their partnership can translate bold ideas into workable policy remains to be seen. But for now, their message is clear: the Mamdani administration intends to govern with the same fearless energy that fueled its campaign.
“New York has always been a city of reinvention,” Khan said in closing remarks. “Now it’s time to reinvent what public service can mean in the twenty-first century.”
With the city watching — and Wall Street already on alert — Mamdani’s transition is shaping up to be one of the most closely watched in modern New York history.
As Mamdani himself declared Tuesday night: “This city belongs to the people. And starting now, so does its power.”