New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani ran on a message of making the Big Apple more affordable for everyday Americans, but some of his actions in the first few weeks of his tenure have served to undercut that reality.

In the early days of his time as mayor, Mamdani has already shown a penchant for vehemently defending low-wage, unskilled delivery-app workers in a manner that industry executives and business experts think will hit consumers’ pocketbooks. He sued a delivery app startup earlier this month for allegedly violating the city’s worker-rights laws, and warned the broader range of delivery app companies operating in the city to abide by ramped up worker rights being imposed at the end of the month, or else.

At a press conference announcing the lawsuit and accompanying demand letters issued to delivery app companies warning them to follow the updated worker protections, Mamdani also accused the delivery-app startup, MotoClick, of stealing workers’ tips. Among the reforms Mamdani has signaled he plans to vigorously enforce is a mandated tipping framework that estimates show could push more than half-a-billion in additional costs on consumers annually. 

The updated protections will also add more delivery-app companies, such as those that deliver groceries, to the list that must follow the delivery-app worker rights laws, including a mandated minimum wage higher than what some emergency medical services (EMS) personnel in the city make.

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“We know affordability is not just about the cost of goods — it’s about the dignity of work,” Mamdani’s Commissioner of the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) Sam Levine told companies including DoorDash, GrubHub and Uber. “Today’s lawsuit against Motoclick is not just an action against one company, it’s a warning to every app-based company from this Administration. You cannot treat workers like they are expendable and get away with it. We will seek full back pay and damages. We will seek full accountability.”

Mamdani pointed to a recent report put out by Levine, which showed disobeying city mandates going into effect later this month, requiring apps to give the opportunity for customers to tip before or at the same time that an order has been placed, significantly impacts the amount of incoming tip revenue. Levine’s report that Mamdani touted estimates alternative tipping frameworks, such as only allowing tips upon completion of a delivery, have altered tipping revenue by an estimated $550 million per year.

Mamdani also stood by in tacit agreement during the press conference as delivery-app worker advocates called for an increase to their already mandated minimum wage they have that is approximately $4.50 higher for delivery-app drivers than the city’s base minimum wage of $17 per hour. The workers said they wanted a mandate that they get paid $35 per hour, to which Mamdani replied: “closed mouths don’t get fed.”

Mamdani campaigned on raising the base minimum wage to $30 per hour for all New Yorkers by 2030.

Meanwhile, his eager enforcement to protect delivery-app drivers will include making sure a wider breadth of delivery-app companies, such as those who deliver groceries like InstaCart and Shipt, abide by New York City’s extended minimum wage laws for their workers – plus the other mandates related to the tipping structure and more.

DCWP has indicated plans to set a minimum pay rate for all delivery apps by early 2027.

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“The challenges facing delivery workers, small businesses, and consumers are real, and deeply interconnected. That’s why this issue cannot be reduced to a single policy lever or viewed in isolation,” a spokesperson for the Bronx Chamber of Commerce told Fox News Digital. “Small businesses across the Bronx and throughout New York City are already under extraordinary pressure. When additional costs are layered on without a full economic analysis, those costs are predictably passed down to consumers or absorbed through reduced hours, reduced staffing, or closures. When businesses close, communities lose jobs, services, and economic anchors, and the ripple effects are significant.”

The Chamber of Commerce spokesperson added that Mamdani has an opportunity “to lead by tackling affordability in a holistic way,” which they said would require “comprehensive cost analysis and coordinated solutions that support workers while ensuring the small business ecosystem and consumer affordability are not unintentionally harmed.”

When reached for comment about the discrepancy between Mamdani’s message of making New York City more affordable for everyone, versus his push to protect delivery-app worker rights that could impact consumer pricing, a New York City Hall spokesperson argued that “the insinuation that putting more money in the pockets of delivery workers undercuts affordability is absurd.”

“Delivery Workers are important members of our city’s economy, and deserve to be paid fairly – anything less is unacceptable,” the spokesperson added. “As Mayor Mamdani continues to stand up for everyday New Yorkers and actualize his ambitious agenda to make New York City truly livable for families. Affordability has been, and will continue to be, a guiding light.”

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But DoorDash’s head of public policy for North America, John Horton, said that ensuring delivery-app workers “earn double what many first responders in the city make” is not a policy solution they believe will make New York City more affordable. Currently, a local fire technician and emergency medical services union in the city is in the midst of a public awareness campaign to raise their wages because they make less than delivery-app drivers at $18.94 per hour.

“A thriving New York will take a partnership between elected officials, the business community and workers to ensure we are all working in the best interests of New Yorkers in the midst of the city’s affordability crisis,” Horton added. 

Fox News Digital followed up with Mamdani’s campaign to inquire about the complaint that EMS and some firemen in the city are making less than delivery-app workers, but did not receive a response in time for publication.

As federal immigration tactics face mounting legal and political scrutiny after U.S. agents fatally shot a Minneapolis man over the weekend, President Trump announced Monday that he was dispatching his border advisor Tom Homan to Minnesota.

Until now, Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino has overseen the federal government’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota. But as the Trump administration’s Department of Homeland Security faces widespread criticism for its aggressive tactics since it launched Operation Metro Surge in December, Trump signaled Monday that he could be shifting strategy as he deploys Homan to the region.

“He has not been involved in that area, but knows and likes many of the people there,” Trump said of Homan on Truth Social. “Tom is tough but fair, and will report directly to me.”

In a sign that the Trump administration may be questioning its hard-line immigration approach in Minneapolis, Bovino and some federal agents are expected to leave the city as early as Tuesday, a source told the Associated Press.

Muzaffar Chishti — an attorney and immigration policy expert at the Migration Policy Institute, a Washington-based think tank — said no one knows what Trump will do next, but Homan’s arrival in Minnesota marks a significant shift in the balance of power in the administration’s immigration enforcement efforts.

“There was a big rift here between seasoned ICE officers and these new troopers,” Chishti said. “This may become the moment where things begin to change, if not fully reverse. I would be surprised if we don’t see some change.”

Trump said Monday that he had a “very good call” with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who called on the president this weekend to “pull the thousands of violent, untrained officers out of Minnesota.”

“We, actually, seemed to be on a similar wavelength,” Trump wrote on TruthSocial.

“I told Governor Walz that I would have Tom Homan call him, and that what we are looking for are any and all Criminals that they have in their possession,” Trump added. “The Governor, very respectfully, understood that… He was happy that Tom Homan was going to Minnesota, and so am I!”

Walz’s office described the call as “productive,” noting that Trump agreed to talk to Homeland Security officials about enabling the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to conduct an independent investigation into the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti.

“The President also agreed to look into reducing the number of federal agents in Minnesota and working with the state in a more coordinated fashion on immigration enforcement regarding violent criminals,” Walz’s office said.

Trump’s latest statements come as a federal judge heard arguments Monday on whether to temporarily halt his administration’s immigration enforcement in Minnesota. Meanwhile, Democratic senators plan to oppose a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security, raising the possibility of a partial government shutdown. A small but growing number of Republicans — including former Vice President Mike Pence — have also joined Democratic calls for a thorough investigation into Pretti’s killing.

The Department of Homeland Security said Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care unit nurse, approached federal officers on the street Saturday morning with a 9-millimeter semiautomatic handgun and “violently resisted” when officers tried to disarm him. But cellphone videos recorded by eyewitnesses contradict that account.

According to videos taken on the scene, Pretti was holding a phone, not a handgun, when he stepped in front of a federal agent who had shoved a woman to the ground. The agent shoved and pepper sprayed him and then multiple agents forced him to the ground. In the middle of the scrum, an agent secured a handgun. Less than a second later, the first shot was fired.

Pretti is the second U.S. citizen in Minneapolis to be killed by immigration officers this month. On Jan. 7, Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother, was shot in the head by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer.

At a briefing in Washington on Monday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the Department of Homeland Security and FBI were investigating the shooting and U.S. Customs and Border Protection was also conducting its own internal review.

Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem drew criticism this weekend for asserting, without evidence, that Pretti committed “an act of domestic terrorism” and saying that her agency would lead the investigation into his killing.

Asked if Trump agreed with Noem and Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller that Pretti was a domestic terrorist, Leavitt said she had “not heard the president characterize Mr. Pretti in that way.”

After federal officials denied Minnesota state investigators access to the shooting scene in south Minneapolis, local and state officials accused the Homeland Security agency of mishandling evidence. Late Saturday, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension asked a federal court to block Homeland Security and Justice Department officials from destroying or concealing evidence.

On Monday, Pence, a Republican who served during Trump’s first term, described images of the shooting as “deeply troubling.”

“A full and transparent investigation of this officer involved shooting must take place immediately,” Pence wrote on X. “The focus now should be to bring together law enforcement at every level to address the concerns in the community even while ensuring that dangerous illegal aliens are apprehended and no longer a threat to families in Minneapolis.”

Until now, Bovino has been the public face of immigration enforcement in Minneapolis, but Leavitt said Monday that Homan would now be “the main point of contact on the ground” and Bovino would “very much continue to lead” the Border Patrol.

Noem, who has backed Bovino’s aggressive tactics, said Monday it was “good news” that Homan was going to Minneapolis.

“I have worked closely with Tom over the last year and he has been a major asset to our team,” Noem wrote on X. Homan’s “experience and insight,” she said, would “help us to remove even more public safety threats and violent criminal illegal aliens” from Minneapolis streets.

But some Democrats in Minnesota oppose sending Homan to the state. Minneapolis City Council member Soren Stevenson said the move would only heighten tension.

“They are losing the battle in people’s minds,” Stevenson told CNN, noting that people could see video evidence contradict federal accounts of Border Patrol agents’ actions.

“They’re losing this narrative battle, and so he’s sending in his top guard,” Stevenson added. “And really, it’s escalating, because we just want to be left alone. The chaos in our community is coming from ICE. It’s coming from this invasion that we’re under … and it’s got to stop.”

In a short interview with the Wall Street Journal on Sunday, Trump criticized Pretti for carrying a gun during protest activity.

“I don’t like any shooting. I don’t like it,” Trump said. “But I don’t like it when somebody goes into a protest and he’s got a very powerful, fully loaded gun with two magazines loaded up with bullets also. That doesn’t play good either.”

The president declined to comment on whether the agents who shot Pretti had done the right thing. “We’re looking,” Trump said when pressed. “We’re reviewing everything and will come out with a determination.”

Democratic officials, from Walz to Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, have repeatedly called on federal immigration officers to leave Minneapolis. On Sunday, Trump suggested they could withdraw, but he did not give a timeline.

“At some point we will leave,” the president said. “They’ve done a phenomenal job.”

Meanwhile in California, Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Hollister) said on Monday that state legislators are working on new legislation to hold the federal government and ICE agents accountable.

“It seems like our very right to life is under attack,” said Rivas, speaking at a joint news conference with Democratic legislators held to show solidarity with Minnesota. “To the people and leaders of Minneapolis, please hear this clearly: California stands with you.”

Rivas said it was time for Congress to stand up for the American people, even if that meant shutting down the federal government. He urged Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to lead with strength or step aside.

California has already enacted new laws in response to the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration raids, including one banning federal officers from wearing masks during enforcement duties. The U.S. Department of Justice is suing California over the measures.

Times staff writer Katie King contributed to this report.

Funding for the Department of Homeland Security was already a question for some Democrats before the killing of Alex Pretti.

But Saturday’s killing by ICE agents gave Democrats who were on the fence about supporting the upcoming government funding plan a reason to solidify their opposition. And the killing only hardened those who were opposed to funding DHS before.

From a political standpoint, Democrats are compelled to fight this. Otherwise, their base will balk. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., endured brickbats from the liberal base last March when he and a group of other Democratic senators helped Republicans clear a filibuster to avoid a shutdown.

Progressives raged at Schumer. And the Senate’s top Democrat suddenly found himself crossways with House Democratic leaders who expected him to mount more of a fight over government funding.

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The liberal base certainly got that this fall as Democrats withheld their votes to fund the government and fought over expiring Obamacare subsidies. The government shuttered for 43 days. But Democrats never earned a restoration of Obamacare subsidies. The Senate took a vote related to restoring the subsidies. Nothing happened. The House actually passed a bill re-upping the subsidies for three years. But the issue remains at an impasse.

Despite the fall brawl, Democratic congressional leaders faced a narrow path to walk for this funding round. They still felt pressure from the left to oppose money for DHS, long before the killing of Renee Good and Pretti. But Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., did not go to the mat to oppose funding this time. They wanted to finesse this, believing that a shutdown was bad politics for them after the fall experience. After all, Democrats never scored precisely what they wanted. By the same token, Schumer and Jeffries didn’t wade deeply into the funding fight, perhaps afraid of breaking a fragile truce on spending bills.

That all changed Saturday. Democrat after Democrat published statements that they wouldn’t vote to fund DHS. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, caucuses with the Democrats. He was one senator instrumental to helping re-open the government last fall. King said he couldn’t support funding this time around.

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So unless something changes by 11:59:59 p.m. ET on Friday, Jan. 30, 78% of the federal government will lack money to operate. The six-bill, $1.2 trillion spending package doesn’t only fund the Department of Homeland Security, but it also provides money for the Pentagon, Health and Human Services, Labor & Housing programs, Transportation and Education.

The DHS bill was radioactive in the House. So the House broke that bill off from the rest of the package. The House approved the DHS funding measure 220-207 with seven Democratic yeas. The House approved the remaining bills 341-88.

The House then married the six bills together in one package, sent it to the Senate and left town.

There was some grumbling from senators that this was a “take it or leave it” package.

And after the shooting, all bets were off. On Saturday, Schumer declared that “Senate Democrats will not provide the votes to proceed to the appropriations bill if the DHS funding bill is included.”  

Democrats implored Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., to break off the DHS funding bill from the rest of the spending package and handle that separately. Otherwise, they would oppose the entire plan.

On Monday, Schumer signaled that “Senate Democrats have made clear we are ready to quickly advance the five appropriations bills separately from the DHS funding bill before the January 30th deadline.” He also said that “Republicans will again be responsible for another government shutdown.”

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Well, this is an amalgamated appropriations bill sent over from the House. Not a Kit-Kat bar. You just can’t break off one piece of it.

In short, what Schumer is proposing would spark a government shutdown. It’s not clear that there are the votes to do what Schumer is suggesting. And doubtful that the Senate would have the time. That’s to say nothing of getting the House on the same page before the deadline. Moreover, the House would just have to magically accept the new Senate position. That’s probably not going to happen considering what the House went through just to pass that minibus spending bill.

And we have not even mentioned that most of the money that Democrats are crowing about for DHS is already out the door. In the One Big Beautiful Bill, Republicans approved $75 billion for border security and ICE through 2029. In that measure, Republicans converted “discretionary spending” (which Congress controls) into a “mandatory appropriation” through 2029. Yes, this tactic agitates Members of the Appropriations Committee. But this has been done before, notably by Democrats when approving Obamacare.

So going after DHS right now would have little impact on the funding for ICE. However, Democrats could demand certain “guardrails” and changes in policy for ICE.

From a parliamentary standpoint, ripping the six-bill package apart is a mess. First of all, the Senate must agree on a “motion to strike” the DHS section from the six-bill combo package. The Senate would have to vote on this. Or, in the interest of time, do this via unanimous consent. But because the “motion to strike” by itself is debatable, the issue could set up a possible filibuster. Sixty votes are needed to cut off debate on just that question alone – stripping the DHS provision from the rest of the overall bill.

It’s important that a motion to strike the DHS money from the rest of the bill does not mean that the remaining five bills are ready to go. The Senate would have to agree that this is the new bill. Senators would then have to overcome a filibuster once and then vote to pass the bill. Those floor mechanics get you well past the early Saturday morning deadline.

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Then the Senate must tangle with passing the standalone DHS funding bill by itself. That certainly isn’t going to be done by Saturday morning.

Moreover, none of these scenarios even addresses the House. If the Senate did approve the revamped five-bill spending package and the solitary DHS bill, the measures must return to the House. The House would have to vote on a “motion to concur” on the five-bill minibus. And then separately, on the solo DHS measure. That’s probably untenable in the House. Anything under this plan wouldn’t meet the early Saturday morning deadline. In addition, the House could glue the bills together another way and send it back to the Senate. Or, the House could even move to go to a conference committee and try to blend the bills into one.

There is no easy way out of this at such a late date. And that’s why you likely have a partial government shutdown at 12:00:01 a.m. ET on Saturday.

Even though ICE is funded thanks to the One Big Beautiful Bill, there’s a big penalty and disruption and other services. TSA agents are unpaid again. That’s a major problem considering what they went through this fall – and coming on the heels of the monster winter storm which swept across the country in the past few days. Air traffic controllers would again face the lack of a paycheck as part of the transportation spending bill.

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Then, there are the politics. Who gets blamed? Republicans are concerned about losing support from voters based on the tactics of ICE. That’s why some Republicans are searching for some changes – but not ready to nuke the spending bill. Meantime, if the government shuts down thanks to Democrats withholding their votes, that may resonate with progressives. But it may hurt the party if Democrats are viewed as the party responsible for another shutdown.

This is a tough situation all around. And there’s not an obvious off-ramp.