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Day: November 14, 2025

Multiple democratic socialists line up to succeed Mamdani

Multiple democratic socialists line up to succeed Mamdani

Several members of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) appear to be lining up to clinch Zohran Mamdani’s New York State Assembly seat after the 34-year-old stunned the political landscape to become the city’s next mayor. Rana Abdelhamid, an Egyptian American and Muslim community organizer, has filed to run for Assembly District 36, the western Queens district that covers the Astoria neighborhood, according to City & State, citing state Board of Elections records. Meanwhile, DSA leaders have already recruited former Queens DSA co-chair Diana Moreno to run for the seat, while local reports indicate that Mary Jobaida, a past candidate for a neighboring district, may also run. Abdelhamid is a member of the New York City chapter of the DSA. The chapter is the largest in the country, with more than 11,200 members, including Mamdani and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. Tiffany Cabán, the Astoria neighborhood’s city council member, is also a DSA member. ZOHRAN MAMDANI LANDS KEY ENDORSEMENT IN NEW YORK CITY MAYORAL RACE A DSA win in this race would mark another step in the group’s growing influence over New York politics. Abdelhamid previously mounted a 2022 primary challenge against then-Rep. Carolyn Maloney, whose district included both the Upper East Side and western Queens. She dropped out of the race after the district’s boundaries were redrawn to exclude Queens, the outlet reported. Abdelhamid is deeply involved with the Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) community in Astoria and helped lead a successful push for the state to collect more accurate demographic data on MENA communities, per City & State. She also founded a women’s self-defense organization called Malikah and previously told the outlet that she grew up in Astoria, in a part of the neighborhood nicknamed “Little Egypt.” Sources told the outlet that Moreno will likely receive the DSA endorsement. LINDA SARSOUR TELLS FOLLOWERS SHE WILL ‘HOLD ZOHRAN ACCOUNTABLE’ IF MAMDANI WINS NYC MAYORAL RACE Moreno, who also lives in Astoria, was co-chair of NYC-DSA’s Queens branch from 2021 to 2023 and served as the organization’s communications coordinator from 2023 to 2024. She is also the former deputy director of the immigrant advocacy group New Immigrant Community Empowerment. “I’m preparing to run for Zohran’s Assembly seat so our future mayor has an unwavering ally in Albany committed to helping him deliver an affordable NYC!” Moreno posted on Instagram two weeks ago, sharing a story about her candidacy on City & State. “As a Queens mom, an immigrant organizer, and a democratic socialist, I’m ready to fight for the working people of Queens! LET’S WIN THIS.” Moreno said she was initially approached by the DSA to run but declined, citing the demands of traveling to Albany given that she has a young child. She said she changed her mind because of what she described as the Trump administration’s “rising authoritarianism” and a need to deliver for working families in her district. Her top legislative priority is free and universal child care. Moreno’s profile shows her participating in several pro-Palestinian demonstrations in the city.

Anti-Trump network behind mass protests cracks open war chest against Dems who backed reopening government

Anti-Trump network behind mass protests cracks open war chest against Dems who backed reopening government

A left-wing group behind the massive “No Kings” protests targeting President Donald Trump and his administration launched its largest primary undertaking: targeting Senate Democrats who joined Republicans to reopen the government.  “This is no longer about them – it’s about us. We’re done waiting for Democrats to find their spine,” Ezra Levin, co-founder and co-executive director of Indivisible, said in a Monday press release. “We can’t afford a weak and cowardly Democratic Party while the authoritarians invade our cities, terrorize our communities, and threaten our democracy. We get the party we demand, and we intend to demand a Democratic Party that fights.”  Indivisible is one of the key groups behind the massive “No Kings” protests that were held across the country earlier in 2025, including on June 14, when Trump held a military parade in Washington, D.C., and most recently on Oct. 18, when protesters railed against Trump’s immigration policies and reiterated claims that Trump conducts himself as a monarch as opposed to a president.  The protests are supported by dozens of left-wing and liberal groups, with Indivisible, the 50501 movement and the No Kings Organization, itself, identified as the top organizers of the protests.  SCHUMER PUSHES SHUTDOWN INTO RECORD BOOKS AFTER REJECTING GOP BILL A 14TH TIME Indivisible launched in 2017, as Trump’s first term kicked off, and describes itself as a network of local grassroots groups that advocates for the elections of left-wing lawmakers, while advocating current lawmakers resist MAGA policies. The group is funded, in part, by left-wing billionaire George Soros’ Open Society Foundations, which delivered Indivisible a two-year grant worth $3 million in 2023 that works to “to support the grantee’s social welfare activities,” Fox News Digital previously reported.  “Chuck Schumer and a critical mass of Senate Democrats surrendered,” Levin said. “For nearly six weeks, Republicans held the government hostage while threatening health care, food assistance, and basic services for millions of Americans.”   “In these six weeks of the shutdown, Democrats had their best election night in over a decade, polls showed Republicans were losing this shutdown fight, and their base turned out for the largest protest in modern U.S. history with a resounding rejection of Trump and Republicans,” Levin continued in his comments. “Instead of standing with that energy, Senate Democrats surrendered — yet again. That’s why Indivisible is launching our largest primary program yet.”  “Our democracy is facing an existential threat. We need leaders with backbone and conviction — not timidity and excuses,” Indivisible’s co-founder and co-executive director Leah Greenberg said of the primary plan. “Democrats can’t defeat authoritarianism by running from the fight. It’s in our hands to make sure those who can’t fight make space for the leaders who can. Indivisible is ready to clean house and build a party that actually has the energy to act like an opposition.”  At the heart of the shutdown was a debate on healthcare. Trump and Republican pinned shutdown blame on Democrats for working to include healthcare benefits for illegal immigrants in the package. Democrats denied the claims and argued the government was shut down due to Republicans failing to negotiate healthcare demands.  The House voted later Wednesday to reopen the government. The bill then headed to Trump’s desk for his signature to officially end the longest federal shutdown in U.S. history.  A handful of left-wing lawmakers and leaders slammed Senate Democrats for joining the GOP earlier this week, such as Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders describing Sunday as a “very bad night.” JOHN FETTERMAN BREAKS WITH DEMOCRATS IN SHUTDOWN VOTE, SAYS IT’S AN ‘EASY CHOICE’ TO PUT AMERICA FIRST “Pathetic. This isn’t a deal. It’s a surrender. Don’t bend the knee!,” Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s official press office X account posted Sunday evening. Newsom added on his own X account: “America deserves better,” as well as another message that just read, “pathetic.“ “As this vote moves to the House, I stand with Democratic leadership as they refuse to rubber stamp the full-scale Republican assault on Americans’ health care and I am proud of the majority of Senate Democrats who opposed this vote,” DNC Chair Ken Martin posted to X.  “I’ve said it since the start of this shutdown — Republicans do not negotiate in good faith, and any deal that fails to protect healthcare is not a deal at all. For Democrats to cave now would be a complete betrayal of the American people,” Illinois Lt. Governor and Senate candidate Juliana Stratton posted to X.  Others, including Indivisible and Democratic California Rep. Ro Khanna, have called for Schumer to be replaced over the handling of the shutdown.  Indivisible’s primary plan, which is dubbed as the group’s “largest” primary effort to date, includes calling on Schumer to step aside as Senate minority leader, and backing Senate candidates who hold a “clear commitment to abandon the status quo of feckless leadership, and use every tool available to fight MAGA attacks on our communities, our health, and our democracy.” “Ahead of the 2026 primaries, Indivisible will be activating (it’s) (sic) network to support progressive fighters who are challenging feckless, status-quo-loving incumbents. In a recent movement survey, 98.67% of Indivisible’s base said they wanted Senate Democrats to keep fighting,” the group wrote, adding that its plan is coming together with more details, candidate endorsements and campaign efforts expected in the coming weeks.   Fox News Digital reached out to Indivisible Wednesday morning for additional comment on the plan but did not immediately receive a response.  SENATE RETURNS TO WORK AS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN NEARS LONGEST IN US HISTORY OVER OBAMACARE FIGHT When asked about the Democrat in-fighting over the eight lawmakers who joined the GOP, the White House reiterated that Trump has wanted the government to reopen since Oct. 1.  “President Trump has wanted the government reopened since the first day Democrats shut it down. The action in the Senate is a positive development and we look forward to seeing it progress,” a White House official told Fox Digital.  Trump joined Fox News’ Laura Ingraham Monday evening, arguing the Republican Party “broke”

New prosecutor takes on Trump’s Georgia election case after Fani Willis disqualified

New prosecutor takes on Trump’s Georgia election case after Fani Willis disqualified

The head of the Georgia Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council revealed on Friday that he appointed himself to take over the election case in Georgia against President Donald Trump and several others, a move that comes after Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was disqualified from it. The council’s director, Peter Skandalakis, said he would take the case on after he was unable to find another prosecutor to do it. “The filing of this appointment reflects my inability to secure another conflict prosecutor to assume responsibility for this case,” Skandalakis said. “Several prosecutors were contacted and, while all were respectful and professional, each declined the appointment.” TRUMP ISSUES SWEEPING PARDONS FOR 2020 ELECTION ALLIES — WHAT THE MOVE REALLY MEANS Willis charged Trump and 18 co-defendants in August 2023 with racketeering and other violations involving interfering with the 2020 election, but the case was whittled down significantly because of plea deals and dismissed charges. The biggest blow to the prosecution came last year, however, when the Georgia Court of Appeals disqualified Willis, finding that she had an undisclosed romantic relationship with her lead prosecutor, Nathan Wade, and that it presented a conflict of interest. Her disqualification flipped the case into the hands of the state agency to decide what to do with it. Legal experts had long predicted that finding a new prosecutor to step in and take on the sprawling, complex racketeering case against Trump and his allies would be difficult. Skandalakis said he wanted to do it to avoid the court dismissing the charges because of a lack of a prosecutor. “The public has a legitimate interest in the outcome of this case. Accordingly, it is important that someone make an informed and transparent determination about how best to proceed,” Skandalakis said. Court action against Trump while he is a sitting president is unlikely, but some of his co-defendants still facing charges, including former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, do not have that same type of protection. ALVIN BRAGG DODGES MENTIONING SIGNATURE TRUMP CASE AS HE CAMPAIGNS FOR DISTRICT ATTORNEY RE-ELECTION Trump this week pardoned Meadows, Giuliani and others facing accusations related to the 2020 election, but the president’s clemency only applies to federal charges. Trump’s defense lawyer Steve Sadow said in a statement he expects the Georgia case will still be tossed out. “This politically charged prosecution has to come to an end,” Sadow said. “We remain confident that a fair and impartial review will lead to a dismissal of the case against President Trump.” Claudia Kelly-Bazan contributed to this report.