Politics

(WASHINGTON) — Facing uproar in his MAGA base over the Jeffrey Epstein files, President Donald Trump has called for Attorney General Pam Bondi “to produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval” related to the case.

Bondi responded on social media Thursday evening, saying, “We are ready to move the court tomorrow to unseal the grand jury transcripts.”

It’s not immediately clear the extent of the administration’s request to unseal the transcripts, which would be subject to the approval of a federal judge in the Southern District of New York, where Epstein was charged before he died by suicide in 2019.

This change of course comes after the Justice Department and the FBI released a memo earlier this month stating no evidence was found that Epstein kept a “client list” of associates or that he blackmailed any prominent individuals. The memo concluded no investigation into uncharged third party was warranted.

The brief memo put out by the DOJ and FBI last week stoked furor among Trump’s diehard supporters after years of prominent right-wing figures pushing accusations about Epstein and the “deep state” that’s protecting elites.

Trump’s since sought various ways to put out the political firestorm, coming to Bondi’s defense while also saying she should release what she deems “credible.”

In Trump’s call for Bondi to produce the grand jury testimony, he said it was a “SCAM, perpetuated by the Democrats,” and that it “should end, right now!”

Shifting from his previous statement of calling the Epstein files a “hoax” and those Republican supporters who are questioning his administration’s handling of it as “stupid” and “foolish.”

Trump, in a phone interview with “Just the News” on Real America’s Voice on Wednesday night, alleged without providing evidence that Democrats and former officials doctored files relating to the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender.

The comments came when Trump was asked if he wanted one prosecutor to look into the broad subject of political prosecution.

“Well, I think it’s in the case of Epstein, they’ve already looked at it, and they are looking at it, and I think all they have to do is put out anything credible,” Trump said.

“But you know, that was run by the Biden administration for four years. I can imagine what they put into files, just like they did with the others,” Trump continued. “I mean, the Steele dossier was a total fake, right? It took two years to figure that out for the people, and all of the things that you mentioned were fake.”

“So I would imagine if they were run by Chris Wray and they were run by Comey, and because it was actually even before that administration, they’ve been running these files, and so much of the things that we found were fake with me,” Trump said.
Despite Trump’s claims that Democrats “put” things in the files, many documents relating to Epstein, including those that mention Trump and several prominent Democrats, have been public for years.

And the White House on Thursday shut down the idea of appointing a special prosecutor in the Epstein case.

“The idea was floated from someone in the media to the president. The president would not recommend a special prosecutor in the Epstein case. That’s how he feels,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters at the briefing.

Asked to clarify what part of the Epstein saga is a “hoax” as Trump claimed, Leavitt only continued to criticize Democrats.

“The president is referring to the fact that Democrats have now seized on this as if they ever wanted transparency when it comes to Jeffrey Epstein, which is an asinine suggestion for any Democrat to make,” she said. “The Democrats had control of this building, the White House, for four years, and they didn’t do a dang thing when it came to transparency in regards to Jeffrey Epstein and his heinous crimes.”

Epstein was arrested in 2019 and died in prison by suicide while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges while Trump was president.

“Some of the naive Republicans fall right into line, like they always do,” the president said on “Just the News.”
Calls for transparency on Epstein came from several Republicans on Capitol Hill on Wednesday. And Trump’s own former vice president, Mike Pence, called for the administration to “release all of the files” regarding the Epstein investigation.

Leavitt on Thursday defended the administration’s handling of the Epstein files and attempted to distance Trump from further decision-making on the case.

Leavitt said it would be up to the Justice Department and Bondi to release any other “credible” evidence.

“In terms of redactions or grand jury seals, those are questions for the Department of Justice. Those are also questions for the judges who have that information under a seal. And that would have to be requested and judge would have to approve it. That’s out of the president’s control,” she said when asked why they wouldn’t release the files, with sensitive information redacted, in order to provide more transparency.

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(WASHINGTON) — In a major win for President Donald Trump, the Republican-led House narrowly passed a White House request to claw back $9 billion from the federal budget, including funding for foreign aid and public broadcasting.

The final vote was 216-213.

Trump requested the cuts, which include significant reductions to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), formalizing some of the cuts made by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency by striking $9.4 billion from the previously approved federal budget.

Two Republicans in the House voted against the measure: Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Mike Turner of Ohio.

The measure now heads to Trump’s desk for signature.

House Speaker Mike Johnson celebrated the passage of the $9 billion rescissions package and said there would be additional rescissions bills coming.

“This isn’t the end, it’s the beginning,” he said.

House passage came a day after the Senate narrowly approved the measure.

The vote in the Senate was 51-48 with Sens. Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski voting with Democrats against the rescissions bill.

A number of Republicans that represent states with rural communities — such as Murkowski of Alaska and Mike Rounds of South Dakota — have expressed concerns about cuts to public broadcasting that could affect the ability of certain communities to access emergency alerts.

The final vote in Senate happened after an hourslong and slow-moving vote-a-rama — or marathon voting session — during which Democrats offered numerous amendments to the bill. The bulk of Democratic amendments focused on trying to fight back against cuts to both public broadcast and global health that are in the bill.

The Senate’s process to advance the package began on Tuesday night when Republicans narrowly advanced the rescissions package with the assist of the tie-breaking vote of Vice President J.D. Vance.

Three Republicans crossed the aisle on Tuesday night to cast votes against the bill after raising concerns about the lack of detail in the White House’s rescission plan: Sens. Collins, Murkowski and Mitch McConnell.
 

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(WASHINGTON) — Maurene Comey told colleagues in a farewell email that she was fired as a federal prosecutor without being told a reason but urged them not to succumb to the “fear” she said her termination could cause.

“If a career prosecutor can be fired without reason, fear may seep into the decision of those who remain,” Comey said in her email, a copy of which was obtained by ABC News. “Do not let that happen.”

Comey, daughter of former FBI director James Comey, was fired Wednesday after President Donald Trump vented to subordinates about having a Comey working in his administration, sources told ABC News.

“Yesterday was unexpectedly my last day in the Office. I was summarily fired via memo from Main Justice that did not give a reason for my termination,” Comey wrote in the email.

Comey was a highly regarded assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, where she worked on cases against Jeffrey Epstein and his convicted associate Ghislaine Maxwell.

“Every person lucky enough to work in this office constantly hears four words to describe our ethos: Without Fear or Favor. Do the right thing, the right way, for the right reasons without fear of retribution and without favor to the powerful,” she wrote in the email.

“For the majority of my nearly ten years in SDNY, fear was never really conceivable. We don’t fear bad press; we have the luxury of exceptional security keeping us physically safe; and, so long as we did our work with integrity, we would get to keep serving the public in this office. Our focus was really on acting ‘without favor.’ That is, making sure people with access, money, and power were not treated differently than anyone else; and making sure this office remained separate from politics and focused only on the facts and the law,” the email read.

Comey urged her colleagues to continue to fight abuses of power, seek justice for victims and dedicate themselves to “truth above all else.”

“Fear is the tool of a tyrant, wielded to suppress independent thought,” Comey’s email said.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt didn’t answer questions on the firing of Comey at the press briefing on Thursday.

Leavitt referred reporters to the Justice Department, saying that it was their decision to fire her.

The press secretary was later asked whether the White House had knowledge of the firing and whether Trump signed off on it. She again sidestepped, saying only that it was a decision from the DOJ.

ABC News’ Michelle Stoddart contributed to this report.

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(WASHINGTON) — Former Vice President Mike Pence joined the chorus of Republicans calling on the Trump administration to release files about the case of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, telling CBS News in an interview that he believes the administration should release all of the files about Epstein — breaking with the president he once served under.

“I think the time has come for the administration to release all of the files regarding Jeffrey Epstein’s investigation and prosecution,” Pence said in the Wednesday interview.

Asked if he believes there should be an inquiry into if accomplices to Epstein should be exposed to criminal prosecution, Pence said, “I just think we ought to get the facts to the American people. I’ve always believed in transparency.”

“It’s important that we protect the names of the victims. They should be excluded from any disclosure. But whether or not the facts justify charges, I think that anyone who participated or was associated with this despicable man ought to be held up to public scrutiny.”

In recent weeks, many of President Donald Trump’s most prominent supporters and congressional Republicans continue to demand answers about the files.

Pence is more moderate ideologically than many of the high-profile names calling for the files to be released. More broadly, Pence has threaded a needle over the first six months of Trump’s second presidency, occasionally critiquing and occasionally praising the second-term policies or opinions of the president who he once served under.

Trump continued Wednesday to dismiss calls within his own party for more transparency into the Epstein investigation and made claims, without evidence, that the controversy was designed to undermine him.

In a lengthy social media post, which included references to the president’s previous claims about the 2017 Russian election interference probe, Trump blamed Democrats for creating what he called a “scam” and “hoax.”

Asked what Trump means when he says the Epstein controversy is a “hoax,” Pence didn’t answer directly, but said Epstein’s prosecution began during the Bush administration and continued during the Obama administration.

“I know of no reason why this administration, once the victims’ names are protected, should not release all the files on Jeffrey Epstein,” Pence added.

The Justice Department and FBI earlier this month stated they found no evidence the deceased financier kept a “client list” of associates whom he blackmailed or conspired with to victimize dozens of women.

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(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump underwent vascular testing after he had swelling in his legs, with all results within normal limits, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday.

Leavitt said Trump noted “mild swelling in his lower legs,” which prompted the White House medical team to evaluate him.

“The president underwent a comprehensive examination including diagnostic vascular studies, bilateral lower extremity intravenous doppler ultrasounds were performed and revealed chronic venous insufficiency, a benign and common condition, particularly in individuals over the age of 70,” Leavitt said in the Thursday White House press briefing.

There was no evidence of deep vein thrombosis or arterial disease and an echocardiogram showed normal cardiac structure and function, Leavitt said, adding that all results from testing were “within normal limits.”

Leavitt also address photos circulated online that show minor bruising on the back of the president’s hand, attributing the bruising to “with minor soft tissue irritation from frequent handshaking.”

“The president remains in excellent health,” Leavitt said.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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(WASHINGTON) — Facing uproar in his MAGA base over the Jeffrey Epstein files, President Donald Trump continues to try to shift blame for the controversy to others, including onto Biden administration officials for what he calls a ‘hoax.”

Trump, in a phone interview with “Just the News” on Real America’s Voice on Wednesday night, alleged without providing evidence that Democrats and former officials doctored files relating to the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender.

The comments came when Trump was asked if he wanted one prosecutor to look into the broad subject of political prosecution.

“Well, I think it’s in the case of Epstein, they’ve already looked at it, and they are looking at it, and I think all they have to do is put out anything credible,” Trump said.

“But you know, that was run by the Biden administration for four years. I can imagine what they put into files, just like they did with the others,” Trump continued. “I mean, the Steele dossier was a total fake, right? It took two years to figure that out for the people, and all of the things that you mentioned were fake.”

“So I would imagine if they were run by Chris Wray and they were run by Comey, and because it was actually even before that administration, they’ve been running these files, and so much of the things that we found were fake with me,” Trump said.

Despite Trump’s claims that Democrats “put” things in the files, many documents relating to Epstein, including those that mention Trump and several prominent Democrats, have been public for years.

Epstein was arrested in 2019 and died in prison while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges while Trump was president. A review by the Justice Department and FBI found no so-called “client list” and confirmed Epstein died by suicide in prison.

The brief memo put out by the DOJ and FBI last week stoked furor among Trump’s diehard supporters after years of prominent right-wing figures pushing accusations about Epstein and the “deep state” that’s protecting elites.

Trump’s since sought various ways to put out the political firestorm, coming to Bondi’s defense while also saying she should release what she deems “credible.”

Now, he’s shifted to calling the Epstein files a “hoax” and those Republican supporters who are questioning his administration’s handling of it as “stupid” and “foolish.”

“Some of the naive Republicans fall right into line, like they always do,” the president said on “Just the News.”

Calls for transparency on Epstein came from several Republicans on Capitol Hill on Wednesday. And Trump’s own former vice president, Mike Pence, called for the administration to “release all of the files” regarding the Epstein investigation.

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(WASHINGTON) — Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats walked out before Republicans voted on Thursday to advance President Donald Trump’s nomination of Emil Bove — the controversial top Justice Department official who formerly served as Trump’s defense attorney — to a seat on the powerful Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.

The Democrats left before Republicans forced the vote for Bove’s lifetime appointment on the appeals court that oversees districts in Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Bove has repeatedly drawn criticism from Democrats in the opening six months of Trump’s presidency for cultivating a reputation as one of President Trump’s chief enforcers at DOJ.

The Republican-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee’s vote to advance Bove means he will next face a vote in the full Senate.

Democratic Sen. Cory Booker spoke furiously from the dais, pleading with Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley to allow further debate on Bove’s nomination, but Grassley declined.

“What are you afraid of about even debating this?” Booker asked Grassley.

“Sir, with all appeals to your decency, with all appeals to your integrity, with all appeals to past jurisdictions and past precedent, why are you doing this?” Booker asked.

More than 900 former Justice Department employees sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday urging lawmakers to vote down Bove’s nomination.

He has fired scores of one-time career officials at Main Justice and the FBI, including prosecutors who worked on former special counsel Jack Smith’s investigations of Trump as well as the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob.

Bove also was at the center of the department’s controversial decision to drop the federal corruption case against New York Democratic Mayor Eric Adams, which led to the resignations of multiple prosecutors who argued the effort appeared to be a ‘quid pro quo’ to secure Adams’ cooperation with the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement actions.

Adams and Bove have both denied any such “quid pro quo” arrangement, but in agreeing to drop the charges the federal judge overseeing Adams’ case dinged the Justice Department writing, “Everything here smacks of a bargain.”

“Mr. Bove’s trampling over institutional norms in this case, and in others, sent shockwaves through the ranks — cratering morale, triggering mass departures, and eroding the effectiveness of DOJ’s vital work,” the prosecutors wrote of Bove’s actions. “Prosecutorial authority carries profound consequences on individuals’ lives and the integrity of our public institutions; wielding it without impartiality is a flagrant abuse of that power.”

More recently, however, Bove’s actions have come under scrutiny as the subject of a whistleblower complaint by fired DOJ attorney Erez Reuveni, who has accused Bove and other top DOJ officials of repeatedly discussing how they could potentially disobey court orders that seek to restrict the Trump administration’s immigration actions.

Reuveni’s complaint alleged that in one meeting Bove suggested saying “f— you” to courts who may try to block deportations under the Alien Enemies Act.

During his confirmation hearing, Bove disputed much of Reuveni’s complaint — though he only said he could “not recall” using such an expletive to describe their response to a court order.

“Each one of the undersigned would testify, under oath, that we have never — and would never — tell a Justice Department attorney to consider defying a court order,” the letter said. “Moreover, the Justice Department’s later defiance of judicial mandates in the cases where Mr. Bove previewed doing so further suggests that disregarding court orders was Mr. Bove’s intent all along.”

Republicans on the committee rushed to Bove’s defense in the wake of the whistleblower complaint, and accused Reuveni of partnering with Democrats in seeking to tank Bove’s nomination by filing it with the committee just 24 hours before he was set to appear publicly before them.

Responding to the former DOJ officials’ letter Wednesday, department official Brian Nieves attacked Justice Connection as a “political hit squad masquerading as a support network” and said “they certainly don’t speak for DOJ.”

“They speak for a bitter faction angry they no longer call the shots,” said Nieves, a deputy chief of staff to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. “Their attacks on Emil Bove are dishonest, coordinated, and disgraceful.”

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(WASHINGTON) — Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats walked out before Republicans voted on Thursday to advance President Donald Trump’s nomination of Emil Bove — the controversial top Justice Department official who formerly served as Trump’s defense attorney — to a seat on the powerful Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.

The Democrats left before Republicans forced the vote for Bove’s lifetime appointment on the appeals court that oversees districts in Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Bove has repeatedly drawn criticism from Democrats in the opening six months of Trump’s presidency for cultivating a reputation as one of President Trump’s chief enforcers at DOJ.

The Republican-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee’s vote to advance Bove means he will next face a vote in the full Senate.

Democratic Sen. Cory Booker spoke furiously from the dais, pleading with Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley to allow further debate on Bove’s nomination, but Grassley declined.

“What are you afraid of about even debating this?” Booker asked Grassley.

“Sir, with all appeals to your decency, with all appeals to your integrity, with all appeals to past jurisdictions and past precedent, why are you doing this?” Booker asked.

More than 900 former Justice Department employees sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday urging lawmakers to vote down Bove’s nomination.

He has fired scores of one-time career officials at Main Justice and the FBI, including prosecutors who worked on former special counsel Jack Smith’s investigations of Trump as well as the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob.

Bove also was at the center of the department’s controversial decision to drop the federal corruption case against New York Democratic Mayor Eric Adams, which led to the resignations of multiple prosecutors who argued the effort appeared to be a ‘quid pro quo’ to secure Adams’ cooperation with the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement actions.

Adams and Bove have both denied any such “quid pro quo” arrangement, but in agreeing to drop the charges the federal judge overseeing Adams’ case dinged the Justice Department writing, “Everything here smacks of a bargain.”

“Mr. Bove’s trampling over institutional norms in this case, and in others, sent shockwaves through the ranks — cratering morale, triggering mass departures, and eroding the effectiveness of DOJ’s vital work,” the prosecutors wrote of Bove’s actions. “Prosecutorial authority carries profound consequences on individuals’ lives and the integrity of our public institutions; wielding it without impartiality is a flagrant abuse of that power.”

More recently, however, Bove’s actions have come under scrutiny as the subject of a whistleblower complaint by fired DOJ attorney Erez Reuveni, who has accused Bove and other top DOJ officials of repeatedly discussing how they could potentially disobey court orders that seek to restrict the Trump administration’s immigration actions.

Reuveni’s complaint alleged that in one meeting Bove suggested saying “f— you” to courts who may try to block deportations under the Alien Enemies Act.

During his confirmation hearing, Bove disputed much of Reuveni’s complaint — though he only said he could “not recall” using such an expletive to describe their response to a court order.

“Each one of the undersigned would testify, under oath, that we have never — and would never — tell a Justice Department attorney to consider defying a court order,” the letter said. “Moreover, the Justice Department’s later defiance of judicial mandates in the cases where Mr. Bove previewed doing so further suggests that disregarding court orders was Mr. Bove’s intent all along.”

Republicans on the committee rushed to Bove’s defense in the wake of the whistleblower complaint, and accused Reuveni of partnering with Democrats in seeking to tank Bove’s nomination by filing it with the committee just 24 hours before he was set to appear publicly before them.

Responding to the former DOJ officials’ letter Wednesday, department official Brian Nieves attacked Justice Connection as a “political hit squad masquerading as a support network” and said “they certainly don’t speak for DOJ.”

“They speak for a bitter faction angry they no longer call the shots,” said Nieves, a deputy chief of staff to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. “Their attacks on Emil Bove are dishonest, coordinated, and disgraceful.”

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(WASHINGTON) — The Senate narrowly approved a White House request to claw back $9 billion from the federal budget, including funding for foreign aid and public broadcasting.

The final vote early Thursday morning was 51-48 with Sens. Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski voting with Democrats against the rescissions bill.

President Donald Trump requested the cuts, which include significant cuts to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The passage marks a win for Trump, who called the cuts a priority even though some Republicans voiced opposition.

A number of Republicans that represent states with rural communities — such as Murkowski of Alaska and Mike Rounds of South Dakota — have expressed concerns about cuts to public broadcasting that could affect the ability of certain communities to access emergency alerts.

The bill now returns to the House with a deadline for final passage on Friday. The House must pass the bill on or before Friday in order to meet the deadline on this package.

The final vote happened after an hourslong and slow-moving vote-a-rama — or marathon voting session — during which Democrats offered numerous amendments to the bill. The bulk of Democratic amendments focused on trying to fight back against cuts to both public broadcast and global health that are in the bill.

The Senate’s process to advance the package began on Tuesday night when Republicans narrowly advanced the rescissions package with the assist of the tie-breaking vote of Vice President J.D. Vance.

Three Republicans crossed the aisle on Tuesday night to cast votes against the bill after raising concerns about the lack of detail in the White House’s rescission plan: Sens. Collins, Murkowski and Mitch McConnell.

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(NEW YORK) — Zohran Mamdani, the presumptive Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City, met Wednesday with congressional Democrats in Washington as he continues his outreach to members of New York’s congressional delegation, some of whom still have not said whether they’ll endorse him.

Some of those members have pointed to concerns over his progressive policy proposals or how he has declined to criticize the pro-Palestinian phrase “Globalize the intifada,” although he himself has not used the phrase and has emphasized policies to combat antisemitism.

Most members leaving a breakfast meeting organized by key ally Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York at a Washington restaurant did not disclose what was discussed, although Rep. Luz Rivas, D-Calif., said the meeting was focused on strategizing after Mamdani’s stunning win in the primary and Rep. Lateefah Simon, D-Calif., a Muslim member of Congress, told ABC News that the meeting was focused on skills Mamdani could share and about his background.

“It was a ‘skill-share’ where he just talked about the way in which he’s embodied his experience as an organizer, as a local elected, but also like as a young Muslim man, born and raised in one of the most diasporic cities in the world, and as a Muslim elected, I was not only inspired by it, I learned a lot.”

When asked by ABC News if she thinks Mamdani is appealing to moderates, Simon said, “Listen, he’s winning,” and praised his ability to reach out to people across races and backgrounds.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., continues to hedge on whether he’ll endorse Mamdani but is set to meet with him in New York this week.

Ocasio-Cortez told reporters that members showed up in good faith even if they weren’t fully onboard with him.

Asked what she’d say to skeptics, including members of the New York delegation who haven’t endorsed Mamdani, Ocasio-Cortez responded, “Get to know him. You know, this is not about having any kind of hard line. I think that, if anybody is skeptical, I would say, get to know him. And once you get into a room with him, kick the tires yourself and make your own assessment, instead of just kind of making assessments from what you may see on television.”

Later, while leaving votes at the Capitol, Ocasio-Cortez said discussion around the phrase “Globalize the intifada” did not come up at the event.

Mamdani has faced questions about comments he made about the controversial phrase while speaking on a podcast hosted by “The Bulwark”, where he said he could see that and similar phrases being reflective of “standing up for Palestinian human rights” and that he did not want to discuss the “the permissibility of language.”

He has emphasized hearing and understanding different perspectives on the phrase, which some say is a call for nonviolent uprising by Palestinians against Israeli control; others see it as a call for violence against Israelis and/or Jews. Mamdani has not used the phrase himself.

He has also emphasized policies to protect Jews and to combat antisemitism in New York.

President Donald Trump has attacked the Democratic socialist as a “100% Communist Lunatic” and a “nutjob” and other Republicans have used him to depict Democrats as “radical socialists” and out of step with the country.

Asked by a reporter if she thinks the Democratic Party is moving in a more socialist direction, Rep. Debbie Dingell said, “It’s a question by the media to try to stigmatize the Democratic Party. Every member of Congress runs in a district that is unique, and we all can learn from each other.”

Dingell praised Mamdani as “bright” and praised his campaigning.

“Donald Trump and he both get out and they talk to people, and they listen to people, and they understand how people feel. And he’s using social media the way that Donald Trump has,” she said. “And you know what? All of us in life have different perspectives, different experiences … everybody can learn from — if we take the time to listen to each other, see what they’re doing. Learn. We can all learn.”

Some congressional Democrats said they still had doubts about Mamdani.

Rep. Tom Suozzi, whose New York district partially includes a swath of Queens, told reporters on Wednesday that he was still critical of how Mamdani’s policy proposals could mean higher taxes and that he has not decided if he’ll endorse a candidate in the general election for mayor.

Asked by ABC News if he had considered going to the breakfast hosted by Ocasio-Cortez, he said, “I have other things on my calendar.”

The meeting came two days after former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who conceded in the Democratic primary, said he would actively run an independent bid for mayor. Mamdani is also set to face incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who is also running as an independent, Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa and independent candidate Jim Walden.

After the meeting organized by Ocasio-Cortez, Mamdani went to Capitol Hill for a meeting with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., a fellow democratic socialist who had endorsed Mamdani during the primary.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting as he prepared to catch a train back to New York, Mamdani said both the meeting with Democrats and the meeting with Sanders went well, and that he and the Democrats discussed “just the ways in which you want to unite the party.”

Asked if he’s winning over House Democrats who are skeptical about him, Mamdani said, “I think that we are continuing to grow our coalition.”Sanders said, “I think the issues that he’s campaigning on, the need to create a city that is affordable for working class people, is exactly what has to happen in New York.”

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