In the final days of the hotly contested New York City mayor’s race, House Republicans are upping their attacks on Zohran Mamdani by blaming him for the government shutdown.
The Queens assemblyman was mobbed by supporters on the East Side of Manhattan on Monday, but in Washington he was hardly a fan favorite.
“You can endorse communists all you want, but at least keep the government operating for us”
House Speaker Mike Johnson didn’t mince words when trying to link Mamdani’s Democratic socialist policies to the shutdown.
“We can’t allow a rise of Marxist and far-left activist in one party to shut down the entire operation of the federal government, and that is exactly what they are allowing them to do,” Johnson said. “The Democrats have got to come to their senses. You can endorse communists all you want, but at least keep the government operating for us.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 20, 2025.
Andrew Harnik / Getty Images
On the heels of Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ endorsement of Mamdani, House leaders are now uttering the mayoral frontrunner’s name as one reason Democrats want new health care provisions as the price for striking a deal to reopen the government.
“Many of them are avowed to get us to a single-payer system. They do love socialism, my friends. They love Mamdani. He wants government to take over everything. They’re on board with that program,” Johnson said.
“Their focus is to take on the Muslim guy”
Mamdani was having none of Johnson’s attacks.
“This tells you everything you need to know about the Republican party. At a time [when] 4 million Americans are in danger of losing their health care, when the federal government is choosing to price hungry Americans across this country out of their very groceries, their focus is to take on the Muslim guy,” Mamdani said.
Is Gov. Hochul considering new Mamdani-inspired taxes?
Meanwhile, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul was asked if she was softening on her opposition to helping Mamdani fund his campaign promises by agreeing to tax rich people.
First, she tried humor when asked about chants of “Tax the rich!” at a Mamdani rally she attended.
“I couldn’t hear what they were chanting. I thought they were saying, ‘Let’s go Bills,'” Hochul said.
She later admitted that new taxes might be on the table.
“I’m having a lot of conversations about everything,” the governor said.
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