Potentially could pull money from different federal programs that funnel federal funds to local jurisdictions
President Donald Trump has threatened to punish New York City for electing the Democrat mayoral candidate, socialist Muslim Zohran Mamdani.
Though the action a president can legally take against a city is limited, Trump can use the Foreign Agents Registration Act to prevent foreign influence wielded by Mamdani in New York City, according to Nicole Kelly, senior counsel at Lex Politica, the law firm that represents Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy, and other key Republicans.
“Zohran Mamdani’s election is the foreign influence story we’ve been sounding the alarm on for years, playing out in real time,” Kelly told The Daily Signal. “His election could be the open door for foreign actors to shape our politics from the inside.”
The Foreign Agents Registration Act requires certain agents of foreign principals who are engaged in political activities to disclose their relationship, activities, and disbursements with the foreign principals.
“FARA remains a useful tool for the administration to counter foreign influence wielded by leftwing politicians and NGOs which are being funded by, owned, or controlled by foreign bodies seeking to impact U.
