Former Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan is investigating little-used laws to maximize New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s executive authority as she prepares him for office, according to an interview with Pod Save America.
Transition Role
Lina Khan, named co-chair of Mamdani’s transition team last week, told host Tommy Vietor she’s examining the extent of mayoral powers ahead of Mamdani taking office January 1. She is advising the mayor-elect on economic policy and personnel.
“Coming from the FTC, I’m going to be especially focused on things like, how do we make sure that we have a full accounting of all of the laws and authorities that the mayor can unilaterally deploy?” Khan stated in the interview, taped last week and scheduled to air in full November 23.
Mamdani’s Agenda
Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist, ran on a platform offering free citywide bus service, free and universal childcare for children 6 months to 5 years old, and freezing rent on the city’s more than 1 million rent-stabilized units. His plans require approximately $10 billion in new revenue, mostly from raising taxes on millionaires and corporations.
Implementation Challenges
Tax policy is determined in Albany, where Governor Kathy Hochul has stated she has no plans to raise taxes. Hochul has also questioned free bus viability, as revenues partly pay the Metropolitan Transit Authority’s $17 billion of farebox bonds.
“A lot of what he is going to be looking to deliver is going to be requiring working closely with other institutional actors, be it the governor, be it the legislature, but he should also have a lot of ability to do things unilaterally, and so we want to make sure he has a good sense of what that is,” Lina Khan, 36, stated.
Lina Khan’s Approach
Khan plans examining recently-enacted and proposed legislation and regulations affecting algorithmic price discrimination, surveillance pricing, and junk fees, according to a person familiar with the matter.
“One thing that was really shocking to me at the FTC was just how much dormant and unused and underused authorities had just been on the books,” Khan said. “So 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’re going and understanding what is the full authority.”
Criticism
Hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb, who opposed Mamdani’s candidacy and donated to campaigns against him, criticized Khan’s appointment: “I would hire this person if I were dead set on crafting Soviet style centralized control regime, instituting repressive policies and destroying the economy. But we should give @ZohranKMamdani a chance.”
