Rumors are now swirling over the possibility of New York City Mayor Eric Adams dropping out of the mayoral race, as sources told several media outlets that conversations are underway about a potential job for the mayor in Washington.
Sources familiar with the matter told the New York Daily News that key Trump advisers, including White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, have been engaged in the discussions with Adams’ team about him taking a post in the federal administration in order to drop out of the mayoral race.
Politico also reported that Adams was presented with a role at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Adams, who’s running as an independent in November general election called the prospect of working for Trump a “hypothetical," during an event in the Bronx on Wednesday.
“Last year and a half, people saw what I’ve done in the city and they saw my resiliency. I have been getting calls from private industries, from boards, from educational institutions, I have been getting offers for the last year and a half: ‘Would I come and join their corporation?’ So people are always asking," Adams said.
Advisers to President Trump have discussed the possibility of giving a position in the administration as a way to clear the field in November’s mayoral election and damage the chances of the Democratic front-runner, Zohran Mamdani, The New York Times reported, citing three people with knowledge of the discussions.
The talks have also involved finding a possible place in the administration for the Republican candidate, Curtis Sliwa, the paper also said.
The goal, the people said, would be to give former Governor Andrew Cuomo a better chance of defeating Mamdani.
"The White House has not contacted me, and I'm not interested in a job with the White House," Sliwa said in a statement. "My focus is right here in New York. I’m the only candidate on a major party line who can defeat Mamdani, and I’m committed to carrying this fight through to Election Day. The people of New York City deserve a mayor who truly cares."
The news that Cuomo is the president's choice for the next mayor "is an affront to our democracy," and how Americans choose their own leader, Mamdani said in a statement.
“That is what this campaign is fighting, not simply any other candidate that will be on the ballot, but the notion that New York City is for sale," he said. "We know that this city will decide its own future, and we know that it is New Yorkers that we will turn to to make that decision in November. Not the White House in Washington, D.C.”
