(NewsNation) — Although he hasn’t yet taken office, New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani has already reached out to high-profile Democrats to talk about opposing President Donald Trump.
Mamdani has had private phone calls with at least three Democratic governors — including Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro — all of whom have pushed back on the Trump administration’s policies, including his attempts to send federal troops to Democratic cities.
Mamdani has said that he wants to be proactive, including reaching out directly to Trump, who has, in turn, said that he wants New York City to be successful and will help Mamdani while warning that the city must be respectful of Washington, D.C.
In addition to speaking to governors, Mamdani also met with Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a leading progressive and frequent critic of Wall Street.
She has praised his agenda, which includes policies controversial among some in the U.S., including free child care, rent freezes and free buses.
Mamdani has faced pushback from Republican critics for his policies as well as other critics who want to know where the money for those services will come from.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has put up some resistance to his plan for free buses, saying recently that she can’t support a plan that takes money out of a system that relies on the fares of the buses and subways, but she did leave the door open to targeted relief.
“Can we find a path to make it more affordable for people who need help? Of course we can,” she said.
Questions also remain about free child care, another major part of Mamdani’s platform, and how that would be funded.