Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is set to introduce incoming New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani at his New Year’s Day inauguration.
Mamdani, 34, takes office Jan. 1. After a midnight oath of office overseen by New York Attorney General Letitia James at a subway station, Mamdani is set to have an afternoon public swearing in at City Hall followed by a block party in Lower Manhattan.
Ocasio-Cortez, a fellow democratic socialist who represents parts of the Bronx and Queens in Congress, will give opening remarks at Mamdani's inauguration ceremony, the mayor-elect's transition team announced Dec. 30. U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, the 84-year-old Brooklyn native and source of inspiration for both Mamdani and Ocasio-Cortez, is scheduled to administer Mamdani’s public oath of office.
“For the many New Yorkers who have long felt betrayed by a broken status quo, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez embodies a new kind of politics that puts working people at the heart of it,” Mamdani said in a statement.
Before Mamdani stunned the city’s Democratic establishment, Ocasio-Cortez in 2018 upset a top congressional Democrat, Joe Crowley, to win her seat in Congress. Ocasio-Cortez, a member of “The Squad” in Congress, has championed progressive issues and candidates to challenge traditional, more moderate Democratic policies and politicians. The lawmaker, 36, has become a key figure in the Democratic Party.
