Khan told Pod Save America host Tommy Vietor this week that her tenure as former President Joe Biden\u2019s monopoly-fighting ex-Federal Trade Commission chair taught her many powers are on the books but remain dormant.<\/p>\n
![\"Transition](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/2025-queens-borough-new-york-114855684.jpg\")
Lina Khan, who is serving as Zohran Mamdani\u2019s mayoral transition co-chair, says she\u2019s looking into obscure laws that could give him more unilateral power. Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cComing from the FTC, I\u2019m going to be especially focused on things like, \u2018How do we make sure that we have a full accounting of all of the laws and authorities that the mayor can unilaterally deploy?\u2019 \u201d she said, according to a clip from the still-unreleased full interview<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cSo I want to make sure that to the extent that the city has a robust set of laws that the mayor can enforce, that we\u2019re going and understanding what is the full authority.\u201d<\/p>\n The specter of Mamdani flexing largely untapped mayoral authority didn\u2019t surprise some insiders.<\/p>\n \u201cI would hire this person if I were dead set on crafting Soviet style centralized control regime, instituting repressive policies and destroying the economy,\u201d billionaire hedge-fund titan Dan Loeb sniped of Mamdani and Khan on X<\/a>.<\/p>\n Loeb, who drew Mamdani\u2019s scorn<\/a> for his high-dollar support for mayoral foe Andrew Cuomo during the election, sarcastically added, \u201cBut we should give @ZohranKMamdani a chance.\u201d<\/p>\n Political operative Ken Frydman chimed in, \u201cMamdani\u2019s economic plan is to tax the rich and control the means of production.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019ll strive to regulate private businesses the way Khan did at the FTC. That\u2019s what socialists do.\u201d<\/p>\n Khan\u2019s search for obscure, unused laws comes amid open questions over how Mamdani could actually fulfill his arguably pie-in-the-sky pledges to tax the rich, provide universal childcare, freeze rents and more.<\/p>\n Mamdani\u2019s plans largely need approval from Albany or the City Council or both \u2014 and many pols, Gov. Kathy Hochul included, have cast doubt they\u2019d go whole hog on his democratic socialist dreams.<\/p>\n The revelation that Khan is exploring Mamdani\u2019s unilateral powers signals he could try to bypass less-than-enthusiastic or outright hostile lawmakers as he tries to deliver on his key campaign promise of making the expensive Big Apple more affordable.<\/p>\n Khan is eyeing laws to curb algorithmic price discrimination, surveillance pricing and junk frees that could impact affordability, Bloomberg first reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n She\u2019s also looking to use the city\u2019s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection to check the power of technology companies, similar to her actions atop the FTC, according to the report.<\/p>\n Mamdani, for his part, has stressed he\u2019ll try to represent all New Yorkers. He has also remained largely silent on how he\u2019ll use mayoral powers to build new housing<\/a>.<\/p>\n The mayor-elect\u2019s transition team and early City Hall picks largely consist of veteran public servants from lefty former Mayor Bill de Blasio\u2019s administration, hinting Mamdani looking to tap their institutional knowledge.<\/p>\n![\"NYC](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/nyc-mayor-elect-zohran-mamdani-114874584_8e2b36.jpg\")
How Mamdani would enact his socialist agenda is still an open question. ZUMAPRESS.com<\/p>\n