Top Mamdani transition official was heavily influenced by Soros network during Biden years

Simply hours after talking out in opposition to the Democratic Get together institution in his victory speech, newly elected New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani employed an all-female transition workforce full of veterans from the previous administrations of Michael Bloomberg, Eric Adams, Invoice de Blasio and Joe Biden.

Amongst these transition workforce members is Lina Khan, the previous chair of the Federal Commerce Fee underneath Joe Biden. When Lina Khan was chair, the FTC confronted accusations from Republicans that it undermined the companies’ independence and bipartisanship, colluded with overseas regulators to undermine U.S. firms, politicized antitrust enforcement and created illegal laws.

Amongst these accusations had been claims that Khan sidelined profession employees in favor of recent blood from a gaggle of dark-money nonprofits funded by liberal billionaires like George Soros and Pierre Omidyar, whereas concurrently pushing a robust antitrust enforcement agenda backed by such teams.

Mamdani’s choice to nominate Khan as one in every of 4 co-chairs of his transition workforce got here simply hours after he inexplicably criticized elected officers for being extra involved about enriching themselves than selling public belief. “For years, the folks in Metropolis Corridor have solely helped those that might help them,” he informed supporters Tuesday night time. “However on January 1, we’ll usher in a metropolis authorities that helps everybody.”

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Lina Khan, Zohran Mamdani’s transition co-chair, speaks at a information convention in Queens on Wednesday afternoon. (Photograph by Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Photographs)

Mamdani’s appointment of Khan, nonetheless, places a highlight on that promise as she is accused of utilizing her place to learn allies, together with these she labored for.

Throughout Khan’s FTC chairmanship, she introduced in Sarah Miller as a “particular advisor” earlier than elevating Miller to her chief of employees shortly thereafter. Miller beforehand led the antitrust group American Financial Liberties Mission (AELP), which has acquired at the least between $200,000 and $500,000 from Soros’ Open Society Foundations, the Omidyar Community and the Ford Basis, in response to tax paperwork and grant databases.

Miller is married to former Bernie Sanders assistant Faiz Shakir, the founding father of one other antitrust group known as Extra Excellent Union (MPU). MPU and its affiliated advocacy group, Extra Excellent Union Motion, have additionally acquired lots of of 1000’s in help from the Soros, Omidyar and Ford Basis networks. When Miller moved to the FTC, her former group, AELP, named her husband Shakir as interim chief. In the meantime, AELP additionally appointed former Omidyar Community guide Nidhi Hedge as director on the time, in response to a press launch on its web site, which underlined the intimacy of the community.

Beneath Khan, the FTC quietly introduced in a number of staff of one other Soros, Omidyar and Ford Basis-funded nonprofit, the AI ​​Now Institute. The FTC has appointed AI Now founder Meredith Whittaker as ‘senior advisor’ synthetic intelligence” in 2021, and at the least 4 different AI Now staffers in advisory roles. In some unspecified time in the future in recent times, the whole AI Now group was known as upon to advise the committee.

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Former Federal Commerce Fee Chairman Lina Khan is sworn in earlier than testifying earlier than the Home Judiciary Committee on the Rayburn Home Workplace Constructing on Capitol Hill on July 13, 2023 in Washington, DC (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Photographs)

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Over time, the Commerce Fee’s AI Now advisors had been credited a number of instances with serving to craft coverage and messaging, in response to the FTC’s web site throughout Khan’s tenure. The FTC additionally appeared to undertake coverage statements that coincided with opinions from AI Now analyses.

One other adviser appointed to help the commerce committee led by Khan, who beforehand labored on the Omidyar-backed Democracy Fund, had his job description modified shortly after becoming a member of to incorporate language about serving to the committee with “enforcement efforts.” Legislation professor John Kwoka, who was additionally an advisor to the committee underneath Khan, beforehand suggested the Open Markets Institute, the place Khan himself was director of authorized coverage. The Soros, Omidyar and Ford networks have all handed on subsidies to the Open Markets Institute.

Amongst Khan’s critics on the time of her chairmanship was Christie Wilson, the one Republican commissioner on the FTC who finally resigned over Khan’s management. Wilson accused Khan of ignoring due course of and the rule of legislation, whereas additionally confirming that she sidelined profession professionals on the FTC.

“Former FTC Chair Lina Khan grew to become synonymous together with her hostility towards firms massive and small in the course of the Biden administration and one of many leaders of Bidenomics,” stated GOP strategist Colin Reed when requested about Mamdani’s transition workforce appointments. “The brand new mayor is already breaking one in every of his core guarantees to shake up the established order and usher in a brand new day.”

When Fox Information Digital approached Khan about her tenure on the FTC, she responded, “No remark.”

Zohran Mamdani, Mayor-elect of New York, middle, accompanied by members of his transition workforce, from left Elana Leopold, Govt Director of Transition, Melanie Hartzog, Co-Chair of Transition, Maria Torres-Springer, Co-Chair of Transition, Grace Bonilla, Co-Chair of Transition, and Lina Khan, Co-Chair of Transition, speaks with members of the media at Flushing Meadows Corona Park within the Queens borough of New York on Wednesday, November 5. 2025. (Adam Grey/Bloomberg by way of Getty Photographs)

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Matt Gorman, a conservative political strategist in DC, additionally lambasted Mamdani for claiming to usher in a brand new political period in New York Metropolis however then turning round and “choosing from the identical previous political class of a failed Democratic administration.”

Along with Khan, Mamdani’s all-female transition workforce additionally contains Democratic Get together veterans with ties to the previous administrations of Invoice de Blasio, Eric Adams and Michael Bloomberg.

The opposite co-chairs embody Maria Torres-Springer, a former high aide underneath former Mayors de Blasio and Bloomberg, and soon-to-be former Mayor Adams; Melanie Hartzog, a former New York Metropolis funds director who served as deputy mayor of Well being and Human Providers underneath de Blasio; and Grace Bonilla, a former Bloomberg and De Blasio staffer who has been appointed to guide the previous’s Job Drive on Racial Fairness and Inclusion.

Elana Leopold, a former senior aide to de Blasio, was tapped as govt director of the transition workforce.

Joe Schoffstall contributed to this report.