An expert has shared their insights on Donald Trump's "illegal" threat to cut NYC federal funds after Zohran Mamdani was announced as mayor.
On Tuesday (November 4), the 34-year-old made history as the first Muslim and South Asian mayor of NYC, securing 50.4% of the vote and defeating Independent candidate Andrew Cuomo (41.6%) and Republican Curtis Sliwa (7%).
He also becomes the youngest person elected mayor in more than a century.
While supporters celebrated Mamdani’s win as a turning point for the city, President Trump responded just hours later with a cryptic post on Truth Social: “...AND SO IT BEGINS!”
Trump warned of funding cuts if Mamdani won
Before ballots were even cast, Trump had made his position clear by throwing his support behind Cuomo and attacking Mamdani on his social media platform.
“Whether you personally like Andrew Cuomo or not, you really have no choice. You must vote for him, and hope he does a fantastic job. He is capable of it, Mamdani is not!" he penned.
Trump issued a financial threat in the same post, writing that it is "highly unlikely that I will be contributing Federal Funds, other than the very minimum, as required to my beloved first home".
"Because of the fact that, as a Communist, this once great City has ZERO chance of success, or even survival! It can only get worse with a Communist at the helm, and I don’t want to send, as President, good money after bad."
"It is my obligation to run the Nation, and it is my strong conviction that New York City will be a Complete and Total Economic and Social Disaster should Mamdani win," he concluded.
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Legal expert weighs in
Constitutional experts say Trump doesn’t have the authority to cut federal funds simply because of an election result.
According to the US Constitution, it’s Congress - not the president - that controls federal spending. Article I, Section 8, allows Congress to decide how money is spent, while Section 9 bars any money from leaving the Treasury without congressional approval.
Bruce Fein, a constitutional lawyer, told Al Jazeera that unless Congress sets clear conditions, a president cannot withhold federal funds. For example, he noted, a president can’t stop Medicaid payments just because he disagrees with a mayor’s political stance.
In fact, a law was specifically passed to prevent this: the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, created after Richard Nixon tried to block funds Congress had already approved.
It states that while the president can delay spending for up to 45 days, Congress must approve any such move, meaning the final say still rests with lawmakers.
At present, Republicans hold a majority in both chambers, with 53 seats in the Senate and 220 in the House, but even so, Fein stressed that political motivation alone isn't a legal justification to withhold funds.
And there’s a lot at stake as a report from the New York State Comptroller shows New York City will need about $7.4 billion in federal funding for the 2026 fiscal year - about 6.4% of its total budget.
Mamdani hits back in victory speech
In his victory speech, Mamdani directly addressed Trump, saying: "If anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that gave rise to him. This is not only how we stop Trump. It’s how we stop the next one. So Donald Trump, since I know you’re watching, I have four words for you: ‘Turn the volume up.’”
He didn’t stop there. Mamdani continued: “We will hold bad landlords to account because the Donald Trumps of our city have grown far too comfortable taking advantage of their tenants. We will put an end to the culture of corruption that has allowed billionaires like Trump to evade taxation and exploit tax breaks.
"We will stand alongside unions and expand labor protections because we know, just as Donald Trump does, that when working people have ironclad rights, the bosses who seek to extort them become very small indeed," he added.
The son of Ugandan-Indian immigrants and a proud democratic socialist, Mamdani concluded that New York "will remain a city of immigrants, a city built by immigrants, powered by immigrants, and as of tonight, led by an immigrant. So hear me, President Trump, when I say this: to get to any of us, you will have to get through all of us".