New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Friday (January 2, 2026) defended his revocation of executive orders that his predecessor Eric Adams issued after being indicted in 2024 on federal charges of accepting illegal campaign contributions.
The dozen orders Mr. Adams issued since his indictment included a directive to allow federal agents, including immigration officers, to use an office on Rikers Island, the city’s main jail. That order was later struck down by a court.
Thanking family from ‘Kampala to Delhi’, Zohran Mamdani vows to govern ‘expansively, audaciously’ in inaugural speech as NYC Mayor
The new Mayor also struck down executive orders that Mr. Adams had portrayed as addressing anti-Semitism. Mr. Mamdani, a Muslim who some have accused of anti-Semitism over his support of Palestinians in Gaza, told reporters on Friday (January 2, 2026) that he would fund measures to prevent hate crimes, and would make protection of Jewish New Yorkers a focus of his administration.
Mr. Mamdani recalled September 26, 2024, the day when Mr. Adams was charged with accepting illegal campaign contributions and luxury travel from Turkish nationals seeking to influence him, as “a moment when many New Yorkers lost even more faith in New York City politics and the ability of city government to actually prioritize the needs of the public, as opposed to the needs of the person.”
