New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani (D) announced Wednesday that former Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Lina Khan will serve as one of the co-leads for his transition team.
Khan, who headed the FTC under President Biden, will join three longtime New York City Hall veterans in steering Mamdani’s transition efforts, according to a statement released by the mayor-elect’s office, The Hill Reportde.
“New Yorkers sent a clear message this week that it’s time to build a city that working people can actually afford. 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,” Khan said in a statement.
“Our transition leaders will help build a City Hall committed to excellence, integrity and a hunger to solve old problems with new solutions. Together, we will show the nation how government can deliver when we put the people, not billionaires, first,” Mamdani added in a statement.
Khan was a central — and highly controversial — figure in former Biden’s antitrust and consumer protection agenda. As head of the FTC, she launched sweeping crackdowns on corporate mergers and led efforts to target what the administration labeled “unfair business practices,” including so-called junk fees and mandatory arbitration clauses.
Progressives hailed her as a hero for taking on corporate America, but her heavy-handed tactics — particularly against Big Tech — backfired politically. Biden’s war on Silicon Valley helped drive a wave of influential tech leaders toward the political right, many of whom now see President Donald Trump’s pro-business agenda as the only real counterbalance to the left’s regulatory crusade.
