Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called Wednesday on Mayor Adams to resign, the highest-profile critic to do so as multiple federal investigations engulf City Hall.
“I do not see how Mayor Adams can continue governing New York City,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote in a statement on X Wednesday, before reports that Adams had been indicted. “The flood of resignations and vacancies are threatening [government] function. Nonstop investigations will make it impossible to recruit and retain a qualified administration.
“For the good of the city, he should resign.”
The Adams administration has been rocked in recent weeks by multiple sprawling federal probes ensnaring many of the top officials. Since the latest round of FBI raids earlier this month, several top members of the administration have resigned, including now-former NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban, Chief Counsel Lisa Zornberg, Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan and Schools Chancellor David Banks.
Earlier this week, it was also revealed that the feds have subpoenaed information about interactions between Adams, his campaign and City Hall and six foreign counties as part of a probe that is scrutinizing, at least in part, possible illegal campaign contributions to Adams’ 2021 campaign from Turkey.
The mayor, who has not been accused of any wrongdoing. struck back.
“For anyone who self-righteously claims people charged with serious crimes should not be in jail to now say that the second Black mayor of New York should resign because of rumors and innuendo — without even a single charge being filed — is the height of hypocrisy,” Adams said in a statement.
“I am leading this city to protect it from exactly that kind of phony politics. The people of this city elected me to fight for them, and I will stay and fight no matter what.”
There is longstanding friction between Ocasio-Cortez, who has risen as a progressive star for the Democratic Party, and Adams, who’s built his base in more centrist policy positions. Her progressive policies often collide with Adams’ tough-on-crime approach, especially on matters of public safety.
Ocasio-Cortez chose not to endorse Adams in the 2021 mayoral election, and the two frequently butted heads online.
AOC joins a lineup of other, largely progressives, calling on Adams to step down. They include councilmembers Tiffany Cabán and Alexa Aviles, State Senators Gustavo Rivera, Julia Salazar and Jabari Brisport and Assemblywoman Emily Gallagher.
“AOC doing it nationalizes it and brings it to another level within the city,” said Democratic strategist Chris Coffey.
Another assemblywoman, Brooklyn rep Phara Souffrant Forrest, chimed in on social media just minutes after Ocasio-Cortez put out a statement, slamming Adams’ leadership and urging him to step down.
The mayor brushed off the idea that he would resign at a press briefing on Tuesday and has maintained that, despite everything, it’s still business as usual at City Hall.
“I’m stepping up, not stepping down,” he said. “I have a city to run that I will continue to run.”
Coffey said that while there’s “certainly smoke” around many in his administration, it seems unlikely that a resignation is imminent.
“Normally, you wait for the process to play out before you call on someone to resign, or before they should resign,” Coffey said. “… It’s hard for me to see Eric Adams resigning unless he’s forced out of office.”
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