Supreme Court allows California to move forward with new congressional map favoring Democrats

(GARDEN CITY, N.Y.) — Just over three months after he won New York City’s mayoral election, Zohran Mamdani is already at the center of another election — even though he’s not on the ballot.

With the New York governor’s race on the horizon, some voters and Republican officials who attended New York State’s Republican convention on Long Island on Monday mentioned Mamdani’s name immediately as they spoke about Gov. Kathy Hochul.

“Kathy Hochul is scrounging for votes and she latched onto Mamdani,” convention attendee Phil Orenstein, from Queens Village, told ABC News. “She endorsed him. He endorsed her in the governor’s race and you can see where that’s going. It’s going so far off the cliff.”

The most prominent Republican New York native, President Donald Trump, criticized Mamdani heavily prior to last November’s election.

Yet after the democratic socialist and former state assemblyman defeated former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa in November, Trump appeared to change his perspective on Mamdani.

When Mamdani visited the White House after his victory, President Donald Trump congratulated the then-mayor-elect and said that he thought Mamdani “could do some things that are going to be really great.”

Trump’s praise of Mamdani has raised questions over how Republicans seeking to defeat Hochul this November will incorporate the new mayor into their messaging.

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, who became the likely Republican gubernatorial nominee after Rep. Elise Stefanik dropped out of the race in December, did not mention Mamdani by name in his opening remarks at the Republican convention in suburban Garden City on Monday.

However, Blakeman’s campaign previously issued a statement criticizing the “Hochul-Mamdani agenda” and posted on social media shortly before the convention began that “Zohran Mamdani and Kathy Hochul are pushing New York in the wrong direction.”

Hochul, who had been facing a primary challenge from Lieutenant Gov. Antonio Delgado until Delgado suspended his campaign on Tuesday, touted Mamdani’s endorsement last week.

“Mayor Mamdani understands that we need to build a New York that everyone can afford — I’m grateful for his partnership in finally bringing universal child care to New York, and I know that he’ll stand strong alongside me as we fight against Donald Trump’s attacks on this state,” the governor said in a statement.

Mamdani’s proposals have ranged from free fares on the country’s largest bus system to free child care for 2-year-olds in the city.

“His policies are completely backwards and we are not a socialist country. We are not a socialist state,” Broome County Republican Committee Chair Benji Federman told ABC News at the convention on Monday. “The vast majority of voters disagree with the policies that he has put forward across New York.”

Just under 45% of New York State’s population lives in New York City.

“You have so many people who are in the Senate and the Assembly from New York City [that] if something happens locally down here, they’re going to try to bring it statewide,” Mike Sigler, an upstate Republican county legislator who lives outside Ithaca, told ABC News.

Mamdani and Hochul have each expressed disagreements with each other on a number of issues, particularly regarding taxes.

“Those of us entrusted with the sacred oath of service must heed that call and work together to honor it. That requires not the absence of disagreement but the presence of trust,” Mamdani wrote in his endorsement of Hochul that was published by The Nation. “We must be able to disagree honestly while still delivering for the people we serve.”

On Tuesday, New York leaders gathered for a press conference in the city about housing and infrastructure. Hochul and Mamdani were standing side by side at the podium.

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(WASHINGTON) — Sen. Markwayne Mullin’s nomination to be the secretary of Homeland Security narrowly cleared a committee vote Thursday morning with the help of Democratic Sen. John Fetterman, teeing up the Oklahoma Republican’s nomination for a final vote on the Senate floor as soon as next week.

Mullin’s nomination advanced out of Senate Homeland Security Committee by a vote of 8-7. He needed a simple majority of votes to clear the committee.

After a series of contentious exchanges during Wednesday’s confirmation hearing, Sen. Rand Paul, the committee’s chairman, ultimately cast a vote against Mullin in committee on Thursday. Fetterman was the only Democrat to cast a vote in his favor.

Fetterman’s vote proved to be critical for Mullin as Republicans only hold a one seat majority on the committee. Paul’s objection meant that at least one Democrat would be necessary to push Mullin over the line. 

After the vote, Fetterman said he approached the Mullin vote with an “open mind.”

“We need a leader at DHS. We must reopen DHS. My AYE is rooted in a strong committed, constructive working relationship with Senator Mullin for our nation’s security,” Fetterman wrote in a post on X.

Mullin’s hearing came weeks after President Donald Trump fired DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, following her handling of the Minneapolis immigration enforcement and criticism that she used $220 million in taxpayer money for an ad campaign.

Mullin’s nomination will head to the Senate floor where he’ll need a simple majority of votes to be confirmed. He is expected to be approved by the chamber when he comes up for a final vote.

-ABC News’ Ivan Pereira contributed to this report.

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(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday touted the arrival of his border czar, Tom Homan, on a mission to Minneapolis — as he took personal charge of dealing with the backlash following the second fatal shooting of an American citizen by federal agents in the city.

The president, who had said Homan would report directly to him, sounded positive about his change in course so far, saying Homan had met with Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz and would do the same with Minneapolis Democratic Mayor Jacob Frey.

“I hear things are going very nicely,” Trump told reporters as he left the White House for Iowa, where he was set to deliver remarks on the economy. But there has been no apparent immediate change or pullback in the deployment of federal immigration enforcement agents — as Walz and Frey have demanded.

The White House has noticeably sought to put some distance between the president and the controversial words of his top officials in the immediate aftermath of the deadly shooting of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse.

Trump on Sunday declined to defend the agents involved, and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Monday said she hadn’t heard Trump characterize Pretti the same way as White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller or Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem — both of whom had quickly accused him of domestic terrorism without any evidence.

Trump on Tuesday also publicly broke with Miller, telling reporters he does not believe Pretti was an “assassin” as Miller had described him.

When asked if he believes Pretti’s death was justified, Trump said a “big investigation” is underway and suggested he would be monitoring it personally.

“I want to see the investigation. I’m going to be watching over it. I want a very honorable and honest investigation. I have to see it myself,” Trump said.

At the same time, Trump continued to criticize Pretti for having a gun on him, which state and local officials said he was lawfully carrying with a concealed carry permit, telling reporters: “You can’t walk in with guns.”

On what his message is for Pretti’s family, Trump told ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Mary Bruce: “Well, I’m looking at that whole situation. I love everybody. I love all of our people. I love his family. And it’s a very sad situation.”

Still, Trump stood by Noem on Tuesday and told reporters she won’t be stepping down.

“I think she’s done a very good job. The border is totally secure,” Trump said.

Noem met with Trump in the Oval Office on Monday as scrutiny grew over the shooting and the administration’s response, sources told ABC News. While sources said Noem is expected to keep her job as of now, her focus is expected to shift to other priorities.

A person familiar with the planning said Homan is likely to focus on more targeted immigration enforcement efforts. 

Homan’s arrival also comes as Customs and Border Protection commander-at-large Greg Bovino is set to leave Minneapolis to return to El Centro, California, and resume his duties as chief of that sector, multiple sources told ABC News. Some Border Patrol agents are also leaving Minneapolis.

Earlier Tuesday, in a radio interview on “Sid & Friends In the Morning,” Trump said that if Minneapolis officials give the federal government “their criminals” then it “all goes away” when asked about the possibility of some federal forces leaving the state.

“What we need is their criminals. You know, they have criminals. And all I said, ‘just give us your criminals’ and if you give us the criminals, it all goes away,” the president said.

Trump also recounted calls he had with both Walz and Frey on Monday amid growing tensions in Minneapolis.

“Actually, they were both great conversations,” Trump said. “So, let’s hope that turns out to be so.”

Walz, who was critical of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in an op-ed on Monday, said he and Homan agreed to an “open dialogue” after their meeting on Tuesday.

“Governor Walz met with Tom Homan this morning and reiterated Minnesota’s priorities: impartial investigations into the Minneapolis shootings involving federal agents, a swift, significant reduction in the number of federal forces in Minnesota, and an end to the campaign of retribution against Minnesota,” Walz’s office said in a statement.

“The Governor and Homan agreed on the need for an ongoing dialogue and will continue working toward those goals, which the President also agreed to yesterday. The Governor tasked the Minnesota Department of Public Safety as the primary liaison to Homan to ensure these goals are met,” the statement read.

Frey called his meeting with Homan “productive” in a series of posts on X.

“I reiterated that my main ask is for Operation Metro Surge to end as quickly as possible. Public safety works best when it’s built on community trust, not tactics that create fear or division,” he said.

Frey added he made it clear to Homan that “Minneapolis does not and will not enforce federal immigration laws.” 

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