New York Governor Kathy Hochul delivered a sharp rebuke to newly elected Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s economic platform on Tuesday, signaling a major rift within the state’s Democratic ranks. In remarks that drew wide attention, Hochul dismissed the possibility of raising taxes to fund Mamdani’s expansive social agenda, effectively halting key parts of his “tax-and-spend” proposals before they could gain traction.
Speaking during a press conference in Albany, Hochul made her position unmistakably clear. “I’m the one putting money back in people’s pockets,” she said. “I won’t raise taxes. I know how to govern, and I know how to do this.” Her comments come as Mamdani begins his term as New York City’s first openly socialist mayor, after campaigning on a promise to expand public services and social programs through new taxes on high-income earners and corporations.
The governor’s statement represents a significant political obstacle for Mamdani, whose proposed policies rely heavily on state-level cooperation and funding approvals. While the new mayor has championed measures such as universal childcare, expanded public housing, and free public transit, Hochul’s categorical rejection of new tax hikes could severely limit his ability to finance such initiatives.
Political analysts immediately described Hochul’s remarks as a strategic move to assert fiscal authority and distance her administration from the more progressive elements of the party. In recent months, the governor has positioned herself as a moderate Democrat focused on economic stability, job growth, and cost-of-living relief — priorities she believes resonate with a broader base of voters across New York State.
The tension between Hochul and Mamdani highlights the ideological divide currently shaping Democratic politics, particularly in New York. Mamdani, who represents a younger, activist wing of the party, argues that aggressive public investment is necessary to address inequality, housing shortages, and climate change. Hochul, by contrast, has cautioned against policies she views as fiscally unsustainable or politically polarizing.
For the governor, the issue is not only economic but symbolic — a statement about pragmatic governance in an era of rising populism on both the left and right. “We can help people without breaking the bank,” one Hochul aide told reporters after her comments drew national attention. “The governor believes in affordability, not ideology.” That message, insiders say, is likely to guide her approach to the city’s new leadership in the months ahead.
As Mamdani’s administration gets underway, the clash between the state’s progressive and centrist wings may define the next chapter of New York politics. Supporters of the mayor see an opportunity to push long-delayed reforms; skeptics warn that his ambitions could run aground against fiscal and political limits. For now, Hochul’s words have sent a clear signal: when it comes to the balance between vision and realism, the governor intends to draw the line herself.
The federal government partially shut down at midnight Wednesday, hours after all but three Senate Democrats voted down a short-term funding bill.
The shutdown is the first since December 2018, which saw non-essential government operations cease and tens of thousands of federal employees furloughed or forced to work without pay for 35 days until lawmakers agreed on a stopgap funding measure.
White House Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought notified federal department and agency heads shortly after Tuesday’s failed Senate vote to keep the government funded to begin preparations for a shutdown.
“[A]ffected agencies should now execute their plans for an orderly shutdown.” Vought wrote in a memo.
A House-passed bill – backed by virtually all Senate Republicans and President Trump – to keep the government open with funding at current levels until Nov. 21 failed to clear the 60-vote legislative filibuster in the upper chamber by five votes.
In his memo, Vought noted that it’s “unclear how long Democrats will maintain their untenable posture, making the duration of the shutdown difficult to predict.”
Democratic congressional leadership refused to support the GOP measure unless provisions extending pandemic-era healthcare insurance subsidies and reinstating billions of dollars in funding for foreign aid and other programs cut by Trump were included.
The Senate adjourned shortly after the failed vote.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer met with President Trump on Monday.
AP
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said lawmakers would try again Wednesday morning.
“I am hoping there are enough reasonable Democrats over there,” Thune said during an appearance on Fox News. “We picked up 3 tonight … we’re going to vote on it again tomorrow.”
“Hopefully, we’re going to pick up some more and eventually, we’ll get enough to pass this thing and keep the government open.”
Thune told “Jesse Watters Primetime” that he expects Senate Democrats “are going to start cracking because they realize this is a losing hand.”
A New York Times/Siena poll found that 65% of registered voters opposed a government shutdown “even if [Democrats’] demands are not met.”
Among registered Democrats, 43% were against shutting down the government even if the party is unable to win any concessions from Republicans.
Fifty-nine percent of independent voters also opposed a shutdown under any circumstances, as well as 92% of Republicans.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., meets with reporters at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025.
Trump, who met with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) on Monday to discuss the looming shutdown, posted several photographs of the meeting on Truth Social as the clock ticked after the failed vote.
The images show the Democratic leaders in the Oval Office, with a couple of “Trump 2028” hats sitting in front of them on Trump’s desk.
The president also posted another mocking, digitally-altered video clip of Jeffries wearing a sombrero, as a mariachi band of Trumps serenaded the Brooklyn Democrat.
Trump and Republicans have accused Democrats of wanting to include “free health care for illegal aliens” in legislation to keep the government open, a claim Democratic leaders have denied.
Earlier Tuesday, the president also teased “irreversible” actions that could be taken, including federal employee layoffs, when the government is shut down.
“We can do things during the shutdown that are irreversible that are bad for them and irreversible by them, like cutting vast numbers of people out, cutting things that they like, cutting programs that they like,” Trump told reporters, referring to Democrats.
Vought instructed federal agencies last week to prepare to permanently dismiss employees in non-essential roles if there’s a shutdown.
Meanwhile, the White House website put up a countdown clock, declaring “Democrat shutdown is imminent” as midnight approached.
A video loop of “Democrats in their own words” describing the negative effects of government shutdowns was also posted on all the White House’s social media accounts.
“This is something that 13 times, when [ Schumer] was the majority leader, we passed short-term continuing resolutions — 13 times — and the Republicans delivered the vote for it,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” Tuesday morning. “This is a routine thing. This is not unusual.”
Trump’s White House put a clock on it’s website declaring “Democrat shutdown is imminent.”
Pool/ABACA/Shutterstock
Schumer predicted that Trump and Republicans would face “tremendous” pressure to agree to Democratic demands and reopen the government.
“It’s right now in the Republicans’ court,” the Senate minority leader said at a press conference. “We’ve said this to Trump yesterday. He can easily call up Thune and Johnson and say, ‘Just add the two parts [Democrats] want added to the bill.’”
“The American people are learning how bad this healthcare crisis is and they will put tremendous heat on Republicans to solve it.”
Republicans counter that by voting against the short-term spending bill, it is Democrats that are imperiling benefit programs and potentially public safety.
“Troops won’t be paid. TSA agents won’t be paid. The WIC program — the Women Infants and Children Nutrition program — and other food services will be delayed,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said on CNBC. “FEMA services won’t be provided. We have two hurricanes off the coast of the United States right now. I mean, we’re in the middle of hurricane season. This is serious stuff.”
Members of Congress, political appointees in the Trump administration and all essential congressional and federal employees — including postal carriers, air traffic controllers and others — would all be paid to work during a shutdown.
Federal benefits — including Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, will continue to be distributed, along with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program providing food stamps.
US military service members, non-essential federal employees and White House staff would only be paid retroactively once the shutdown is over.