House passes bill condemning "horrors of socialism" as NYC Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani arrives in Washington
Just hours before New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist, arrived in Washington, D.C., for his first meeting with President Trump, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bipartisan resolution condemning the "horrors of socialism."
The resolution was introduced nearly a month ago, but Republicans decided to bring it to the floor for a vote Friday.
"A yes vote on this resolution should be a relatively straightforward, easy decision," Republican Arkansas Rep. French Hill said. "It simply states that Congress denounces socialism in all its forms and opposes the implementations of socialist policies in the United States of America."
It passed in a bipartisan vote of 285-98.
Among the 86 Democrats who supported the measure were 14 congressmembers from New York and New Jersey, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who only endorsed Mamdani in the 11th hour of the mayoral race.
Other New Yorkers who also supported the measure included Rep. Ritchie Torres of the Bronx, Reps. Greg Meeks and Grace Meng of Queens, and Reps. Laura Gillen and Tom Suozzi of Long Island. Suozzi made a special point of distancing himself from Mamdani during the mayoral campaign.
The measure was also supported by Republican Staten Island Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, whose mother fled Cuba in 1959. She said her mother left Cuba to avoid what she called "the very things that our new socialist mayor in New York City says he wants."
Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters, of California, was among those who voted against the measure.
"I wish we were here on the House floor this morning debating solutions that would reduce grocery bills, lower housing costs, end Trump's tariffs strangling American small businesses and manufacturers, solve the Republican health care crisis, or any legislation that allows Americans to afford live through the catastrophic economic policies of Trump and the Republicans," she said.
Standing next to Mr. Trump in the Oval Office after their meeting, Mamdani batted away a question about the resolution.
"I have to be honest with you, I focused very little on resolutions. Frankly, I've been focusing ... on the work at hand," he said. "I can tell you, I am someone who is a democratic socialist. I've been very open about that. And I know there might be differences about ideology, but the place of agreement is the work that needs to be done to make New York City affordable. That's what I look forward to."