OMG! Longtime readers know I am a Lina Khan fangirl, and the fact that Mayor-elect Mamdani elected her to head up his all-female transition team signals some bold populist economic moves will be coming.
As head of the FTC, she was an aggressive anti-trust regulator who gave shit fits to Wall Street’s Masters of the Universe, who did not take kindly to being told no. So you can interpret her appointment as a clear anti-oligarchy move on Mamdani’s part — and a good indicator of his future direction. (Remember, personnel is policy.)
New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani on Wednesday announced an all-female team of co-chairs for his transition team, including former Federal Trade Commission chair Lina Khan.
The team of co-chairs includes Khan, former first deputy mayor Maria Torres-Springer, United Way of New York City head Grace Bonilla, Melanie Hartzog, who is a former deputy mayor for health and human services, and political consultant Elana Leopold.
Khan is a prominent ally of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders who was an aggressive antitrust regulator when she led the FTC during Democrat Joe Biden’s presidency. Her appointment is a signal that Mamdani, who has called for tax hikes on the wealthy to pay for policies intended to reduce the cost of living, will continue to push against what he refers to as the “oligarchy” when he becomes mayor on January 1.
