Politics
NYC mayor cites $180K racial wealth gap to justify taxes, police cuts
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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is pointing to stark racial wealth disparities — including a gap of more than $180,000 between White and Black households — to justify expanding diversity initiatives, raising taxes and cutting police positions.
Mamdani last week released a 375-page “Preliminary Racial Equity Plan” that argues systemic racism is a key driver of those disparities, with White households holding more than $200,000 in median wealth compared to less than $20,000 for Black households.
MAMDANI PLAN POURS MILLIONS INTO ‘RACIAL EQUITY’ OFFICES AND SIX-FIGURE DIVERSITY JOBS, CUTS 5,000 NYPD JOBS
Zohran Mamdani, mayor of New York, during a news conference at the WIN NYC family shelter in New York, US, on Thursday, March 5, 2026. (Adam Gray/Bloomberg)
The Mamdani administration says the report will serve as a roadmap for future policy, including restoring diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs and directing resources toward closing racial gaps in income, housing and education.
The push aligns with Mamdani’s broader $127 billion agenda, which includes higher taxes on wealthy residents and corporations, a potential 9.5% property tax increase if state lawmakers do not act, and a reduction of roughly 5,000 NYPD officers.
MAMDANI UNVEILS NEW ‘RACIAL EQUITY PLAN’ FOR MORE ‘EQUITABLE FUTURE’ THAT PROMPTS QUICK DOJ PUSHBACK
A man sleeps on the E train, one of the subway lines most utilized by homeless New Yorkers for shelter, in Queens, New York, on Monday, April 7, 2025. (Victor J. Blue/The Washington Post/Getty Images)
“This is not an indictment of any one New Yorker,” Mamdani said during a Tuesday press conference. “It is an indictment, however, of policies and politics that have persisted for far too long.”
City officials described the plan as the first time a New York City administration has required major agencies to evaluate their work through a racial equity lens and identify disparities. The plan sets goals across seven areas, including the economy, housing, public safety, health and infrastructure.
The report traces racial disparities in the city back centuries, citing historical factors including colonization and slavery.
FROM FREE BUSES TO CITY-OWNED GROCERY STORES, HERE ARE MAMDANI’S KEY ECONOMIC PROMISES
One World Trade Center and the Manhattan skyline past commuters on the Staten Island ferry in New York on Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. (Adam Gray/Bloomberg/Getty Images)
The rollout quickly sparked pushback from conservatives and the Trump administration, which has sought to roll back race-based initiatives since taking power last year.
“Sounds fishy/illegal,” DOJ Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon posted on X. “Will review!”
“Straight-up racism against White people,” the conservative influencer account Libs of TikTok posted on X.
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“The reality is Mamdani is implementing blatantly racist policies that reward and punish people based on their skin color,” conservative commentator Paul A. Szypula posted on X.
The city has opened a 30-day public comment period as officials consider next steps.
Mamdani’s office did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Politics
Video: Trump Claims Deal With Iran Is Close and Retracts Threat to Attack
new video loaded: Trump Claims Deal With Iran Is Close and Retracts Threat to Attack
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transcript
Trump Claims Deal With Iran Is Close and Retracts Threat to Attack
President Trump said he had canceled the next wave of attacks on Iran after two days of U.S. airstrikes, claiming that peace negotiations had progressed.
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Most importantly, we have a deal that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon, which was the whole purpose of what we had to go through to get this. So it was a big, very big thing. The strait will officially open as soon as we sign, which could be soon, very soon, maybe over the weekend. In Europe, I won’t be able to be there, but JD will be there — vice president and some of the people.
By Meg Felling, James McManagan and Julie Yoon
June 11, 2026
Politics
Mamdani touts massive taxpayer-funded investment for trans healthcare: ‘First step’
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As part of the Pride Month celebration on Tuesday evening, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani touted the work his administration has done to expand services for LGBTQ+ communities, calling New York City a “haven” for people with alternative gender identities.
In particular, Mamdani doubled down on promises of $15 million in funding for trans communities.
“The threats will continue and so will our relentless protection of trans people across this city,” Mamdani said, referring to challenges he said LGBTQ+ communities face.
“As a first step, my administration has made a $15 million investment in gender affirming care over the next two years, and we will continue to use every tool at our disposal to make sure every trans and gender non-conforming New Yorker can live with the dignity, safety and freedom they deserve.”
MAMDAMI MARKS PRIDE MONTH, SAYS HONORING ‘QUEER AND TRANSGENDER’ CONTRIBUTIONS WOULD TAKE MORE THAN 30 DAYS
Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks during a May Day rally at Washington Square Park in New York City on May 1, 2026. On Monday, Mamdani called for ICE to be abolished following the arrest of an illegal immigrant. (Yuki Iwamura/AP)
Mamdani’s speech builds on similar efforts in other cities and looks to follow through on campaign promises Mamdani made on the road to his mayoral victory.
It’s unclear where, exactly, the $15 million request is being allocated from or how it will be disbursed as New York City Council members continue consideration of the 2027 budget.
Progressive-led subsidized transgender initiatives have also advanced in San Francisco.
Like New York, San Francisco established an Office of Transgender Initiatives and, through its Department of Public Health, has funded guidance for hormone therapy, surgery and mental health case management.
MASSACHUSETTS TOWN VOTES TO BECOME A TRANSGENDER ‘SANCTUARY CITY’ AFTER WILD CITY COUNCIL MEETING
Mayor Zohran Mamdani delivers his 100 Days Address outlining progress on his core campaign promises in Queens, New York City, on April 12, 2026. (David ‘Dee’ Delgado/Reuters)
If implemented, Mamdani’s initiative would go further, directly funding procedures.
Despite pushing the envelope on city-led programs for trans services, the New York funding falls short of the vision Mamdani painted while on the campaign trail.
“The Mamdani administration will budget $65 million in funding to explicitly support and expand access to Gender Affirming Care (GAC) in NYC,” Mamdani’s campaign website read.
That plan detailed that up to $57 million would go to public hospitals, community clinics, health centers and non-profits that could perform procedures.
Although Mamdani’s plan for the $15 million remains hazy, he said his support of the LGBTQ community was proven — and would only grow.
GRAMMY-WINNING MUSICIAN FIGHTS TRUMP’S TRANS EXECUTIVE ORDER BY DONATING TO PEOPLE SEEKING GENDER SURGERIES
New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani attends the 2025 New York City Pride March on June 29, 2025 in New York City. (Noam Galai/Getty Images)
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“As your mayor, I was proud to establish New York City’s first-ever office of LGBTQIA+ affairs within the first 100 days of our administration,” Mamdani said.
“This office focuses on the well-being of queer New Yorkers so that you know you have a champion and advocate within city government.”
Politics
House Democrats ask new ICE director to roll back policy limiting oversight visits
WASHINGTON — Dozens of House Democrats are asking the new director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement to roll back a policy that they say hinders their ability to speak with detainees during oversight visits.
The new policy requires that lawmakers identify detainees by name at least two business days before a visit and provide a signed consent form from each detainee. It’s the latest point of conflict in an ongoing battle over when and how lawmakers can inspect immigration facilities.
In a letter Thursday to acting ICE Director David Venturella, Rep. Mike Levin (D-San Juan Capistrano) and 77 other members of Congress, including two dozen from California, argued that they need to conduct constant oversight of immigration facilities because of historic levels of reports regarding the mistreatment of detainees, deaths in custody and substandard facility conditions.
“This Administration has enabled a revolving door of arbitrary policies, directives, and guidance on member access to facilities or on communication with detainees designed to hinder any productive oversight,” they wrote.
The letter was written in response to the new policy, which was outlined in a memo last month.
In the letter, Levin and the other members wrote that detainees have a hard time accessing the visitation form because it is at times unavailable at a detention center’s law library. They said it limits their ability to speak broadly with detainees, particularly those from vulnerable populations, such as the elderly.
Detainees previously used a sign-up sheet to meet with members of Congress or just started talking to detainees they encountered during facility tours.
In the memo outlining ICE’s new policy, then-acting director Todd Lyons said the increased visits by members of Congress have become a burden and a time suck. Homeland Security didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment, but previously said that the policy doesn’t prevent lawmakers from speaking with detainees.
Levin said the increase in visits was necessary because the agency slashed staffing of its oversight offices. The letter notes that for next fiscal year, the president requested additional cuts to the Homeland Security Office of Inspector General.
“These actions, coupled with the constant changes to policies surrounding member access to facilities, reveal a clear attack on the levers that ensure government transparency at every level,” the members wrote.
Democratic House members sued the Trump administration last July after they were repeatedly denied access to immigrant detention facilities in California and across the country.
Homeland Security officials previously implemented a policy requiring lawmakers to give seven days’ notice before a visit, but that policy was temporarily blocked in federal court.
This week, lawyers said a Belizean man who helped organize hunger strikes at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center was moved to facilities out of state and scheduled to be deported after he spoke to three members of Congress about conditions at the detention center in San Bernardino County.
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