The wheels are coming off the socialist bus.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is tapping the brakes on Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s $700 million plan for free city buses, casting early doubt on one of the far-left lawmaker’s biggest campaign promises, The New York Post reported.
Speaking at the SOMOS political retreat in Puerto Rico on Saturday, Hochul said she’s already spent heavily to support the city’s struggling MTA and questioned how much further the state could go.
“I continue to be excited at the work of making the slowest buses in America fast and free,” Mamdani said Monday during an unrelated press conference. “And I appreciate the governor’s continued partnership in delivering on that agenda of affordability.”
But Hochul’s comments in San Juan marked the latest break between the moderate Democratic governor and Mamdani, the Democratic socialist she endorsed just two months ago.
Hochul happily rode Mamdani’s coattails during the campaign as he energized progressives with promises of affordability and social programs, but she has shown far less enthusiasm for actually paying for them.
The governor has rejected several of Mamdani’s cornerstone ideas, including proposals to raise taxes on wealthy New Yorkers to fund $10 billion in new benefits like free child care and fareless transit
Her caution could create a serious roadblock for the incoming mayor, whose ambitious plans rely on support from Albany to move forward.
The top two Democratic leaders in the state Legislature — Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins — have signaled more willingness to help Mamdani pursue his agenda.
That divide leaves Hochul increasingly isolated from the party’s energized left flank, which has been openly pressuring her to embrace higher taxes on the rich.
During recent public appearances, activists have twice interrupted the governor with chants of “Tax the rich,” drawing a sharp rebuke.
“The more you push me, the more I’m not going to do what you want,” Hochul told the SOMOS crowd in response.
Still, Hochul did not fully reject Mamdani’s wish list.
She said she’s open to working with him on expanding free child care, though she made clear it would be an expensive and long-term goal.
“We’ll be on a path to get there, because I’m committed to this as ‘mom governor’ — I get it,” Hochul said.
“But also to do it statewide, right now, it’s about $15 billion — the entire amount of my reserves.”
The cautious tone was a reality check for Mamdani, who has portrayed himself as the champion of “everyday New Yorkers” and promised to make the city more affordable through massive new public spending.
Hochul’s remarks also came as she continues her own political maneuvering ahead of a likely 2026 re-election bid.
After the SOMOS conference, she flew to the Dominican Republic to attend a breakfast celebrating cross-cultural exchange — an event seen as an appeal to one of New York’s largest and most influential immigrant voting blocs.
Hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers trace family roots to the Dominican Republic, making the outreach a politically savvy move for a governor seeking to rebuild her base while keeping the party’s left wing at arm’s length.
Whether Hochul and Mamdani can maintain their uneasy alliance may determine not only the future of free buses and child care, but also the balance of power within the New York Democratic Party.
A Minnesota man has been arrested for allegedly offering $45,000 for a “hit” on U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, the FBI announced in a press release.
On October 9, 2025, a TikTok user in Michigan flagged a disturbing post from an account under the username “Wacko,” which featured an anarchist symbol and displayed a “sniper-scope red dot” superimposed over the forehead of the nation’s top prosecutor.
The post included a mock wanted poster bearing Bondi’s image, with the text “WANTED: Pam Bondi / REWARD: 45,000 / DEAD OR ALIVE / (PREFERABLY DEAD),” and was captioned “cough cough when they don’t serve us then what?”
The uploader further claimed that they would be offering $45,000 to anyone who successfully carried out a “hit” on Bondi, prompting a swift federal investigation. A suspect identified as Tyler Maxon Avalos, a 29-year-old resident of St. Paul, Minnesota, was apprehended a week after the post went live on October 16, 2025, following verification of his identity through state supervision records tied to his address.
Maxon-Avalos has a lengthy criminal history, which includes a July 2022 felony stalking charge in Dakota County, Minnesota; an August 2016 felony third-degree domestic battery conviction in Polk County, Florida; and an April 2016 misdemeanor domestic assault charge in Dakota County, Minnesota. The latter charge was initially brought as felony domestic abuse in connection with a strangulation incident, though it was eventually reduced through a plea agreement.
His TikTok profile notably pinned a link to An Anarchist FAQ, underscoring potential ideological motivations and connections or admiration for Antifa-linked groups.
Avalos now faces federal charges under 18 U.S.C. § 875(c) for interstate transmission of a threat to injure another person, which carries a potential penalty of up to five years in prison. Following his arrest, U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas Micko granted Avalos pretrial release subject to strict conditions, including restrictions on travel outside Minnesota, mandatory continuation of mental health treatment, prohibitions on possessing weapons or consuming alcohol, a nightly curfew, GPS monitoring, and limitations on internet access without prior approval.
The TikTok post allegedly made by Maxon-AvalosPhoto: FBI
The arrest follows an uptick in violent threats and assaults targeting federal agents and senior officials.
Earlier this month, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that foreign drug cartels were offering hefty bounties on federal agents. In a new bulletin, DHS revealed that local gangs have been encouraged to kill the local heads of ICE or CBP. If they do, the shooter could net as much as $50,000 from the cartels who steer their activity.
Bonuses start at $2,000 for “gathering intelligence or doxxing agents” or their families, DHS announced on Tuesday.
“This surveillance has enabled ambushes and disruptions during routine enforcement actions, including recent raids under Operation Midway Blitz,” said DHS, explaining that non-lethal assaults on federal agents could lead to paydays between $5,000 and $10,000 for gang members.
“These criminal networks are not just resisting the rule of law, they are waging an organized campaign of terror against the brave men and women who protect our borders and communities,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement.