(Bloomberg) -- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, one of the highest-profile lawmakers in the New York congressional delegation, called on New York Mayor Eric Adams to step down, citing the growing cloud of investigations engulfing his administration.
Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat from the Bronx and considered a leader among the US Congress’ progressive flank, made the comments in a post on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter, and linked to a New York Times article that had her statement.
“I do not see how Mayor Adams can continue governing New York City. The flood of resignations and vacancies are threatening gov function. Nonstop investigations will make it impossible to recruit and retain a qualified administration. For the good of the city, he should resign,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote.
A message left with Ocasio-Cortez’s office wasn’t immediately returned.
Adams, a former police captain, blasted the congresswoman, who has supported bail reform and criticized the mayor on the migrant crisis and other issues.
“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.”
Ocasio-Cortez’s comments come as Adams and senior aides face at least four federal investigations which have ensnared some of the administration’s most senior officials.
In recent weeks, federal investigators have seized senior aides’ phones, searched their homes and issued a flurry of subpoenas. In September alone, four senior officials have either resigned or announced plans to depart by year’s end.
No one in the mayor’s office has been formally accused of any wrongdoing, and the mayor has repeatedly said he is not a target of the investigation.
The now-former NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban stepped down earlier this month after he’d had his phone seized as part of a federal investigation that’s probing his twin brother’s nightlife consultancy.
Adams’s chief counsel, Lisa Zornberg, resigned after the mayor refused to heed her advice, and in the past week, his health commissioner, Ashwin Vasan, and New York City schools chancellor have announced plans to leave by year-end. That has led to a cascade of officials questioning Adams’s ability to manage the city.
Under the city’s charter, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams is next in the line of succession if Adams resigns ahead of his 2025 reelection campaign. Williams and Ocasio-Cortez are both self-described democratic socialists who have been endorsed by the Working Families Party, and often find themselves on the same side in Democratic politics in New York.
--With assistance from Laura Nahmias, Christian Hall and Gregory Korte.
(Updates with mayor’s comments in sixth paragraph)
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