Zohran Mamdani taps Lina Khan to co-chair transition team after winning NY mayor race

New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani (D) has brought on former Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Lina Khan to co-lead his transition team, he announced Wednesday.

Khan, who led the FTC during the Biden administration, will co-chair the Mamdani transition with three other veterans of New York City Hall, the mayor-elect announced in a statement.

“New Yorkers sent a clear message this week that it’s time to build a city that working people can actually afford. I’m excited to help Zohran build a team that will usher in a new era for New York City and set a new model for Democratic governance,” Khan said in a statement.

Khan played an integral and controversial role in former President Biden’s antirust and consumer protection agenda. As FTC chair, she ramped up scrutiny of corporate mergers while spearheading administration efforts to defend Americans from unfair business practices, such as “junk fees” and mandatory arbitration clauses.

While progressives applauded Khan’s efforts to crack down on corporate power, the Biden administration’s aggressive stance toward Big Tech also played a role in pushing several major Silicon Valley figures toward the right.

“Our transition leaders will help build a City Hall committed to excellence, integrity and a hunger to solve old problems with new solutions. Together, we will show the nation how government can deliver when we put the people, not billionaires, first,” Mamdani said in a statement.

Before joining the Biden administration, Khan was a professor at Columbia Law School in New York and served as a legal adviser to former FTC Commissioner Rohit Chopra.