Former FTC Chair Lina Khan Joins Mamdani's Transition Team.

4 hours ago7 min read1 comments

In a strategic masterstroke that signals his administration's combative posture toward corporate power, Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani has enlisted former Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan as a transition co-chair, a move that feels less like a bureaucratic appointment and more like a declaration of political war. This isn't just about staffing up; it's a deliberate signal flare to his base and his adversaries that the Mamdani era will be defined by a direct, unapologetic assault on the entrenched corporate interests he believes have dictated policy in New York for decades.Khan, a legal scholar turned regulatory warrior, became a household name during her tenure under President Biden by aggressively attempting to rebuild the FTC's anti-monopolist backbone, launching landmark lawsuits against tech behemoths and championing the elimination of the very scourges—hidden junk fees and non-compete clauses—that form the core of Mamdani’s affordability platform. Her alignment with the mayor-elect is a natural, almost inevitable coalition forged in the fires of a shared ideological battle.Mamdani’s platform reads like a direct implementation of Khan’s regulatory playbook: a concerted effort to ban the hidden fees that bleed New Yorkers dry, to outlaw non-compete agreements that stifle worker mobility and innovation, and to actively fund legal challenges against utility companies seeking perpetual rate hikes. This synergy was no secret; Khan herself publicly championed the Mamdani campaign’s focus on empowering small businesses in a New York Times op-ed, framing his ascent as a necessary corrective to a corrupted political ecosystem.At the press conference announcing her role, Khan didn’t mince words, framing Mamdani’s victory as a clear rejection of a politics where 'outsized corporate power and money too often end up dictating our politics,' and a 'mandate for change' where workers and small businesses can truly thrive. This rhetoric is the campaign ad Mamdani couldn't have paid for, a validation from one of the nation's most prominent anti-corporate voices that instantly bolsters his policy credibility.The appointment also serves as a brilliant counter-punch to the persistent criticism of Mamdani’s relative inexperience. By surrounding himself with seasoned operatives like Khan, alongside fellow co-chairs Grace Bonilla, Maria Torres-Springer, and Melanie Hartzog, he is building a cabinet of veterans, a brain trust designed to compensate for any perceived gaps in his own resume.It’s a classic political maneuver: neutralize your opponent's strongest attack line by co-opting established expertise. For Khan, this role represents a new front in a war she can no longer wage from within a federal agency.The Trump administration has effectively remade the FTC in its own laissez-faire image, dismantling much of the aggressive enforcement architecture she worked to build. Mamdani’s City Hall offers a powerful, sub-national platform from which to continue the fight, proving that the influence of big business can be checked not just in Washington D.C. , but in the zoning boards, procurement offices, and regulatory agencies of the nation's largest city.The political calculus here is razor-sharp. This transition team is Mamdani's first governing coalition, and by placing Khan at its helm, he is sending an unmistakable message to Wall Street, to big tech, and to the real estate titans who have long held sway: the rules of the game in New York City are about to change, fundamentally and permanently.

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#Lina Khan

#Zohran Mamdani

#mayoral transition

#corporate power

#FTC

#New York City

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