New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani announced on December 30, 2025, the appointment of Ramzi Kassem, a CUNY law professor and former Biden administration immigration advisor, as the city’s chief counsel, the top legal role at City Hall.
For context, Kassem, the founder of the CLEAR clinic, which focused on counterterrorism-related surveillance, previously defended Guantanamo detainee Ahmed al-Darbi, who was convicted in an al-Qaeda attack, and Columbia pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil. Reacting to this radical nomination, conservatives objected to Kassem’s past clients, while Mamdani praised his civil rights expertise.
Speaking back in 2018 about his controversial client, Ramzi Kassem said, “While it may not make him whole, my hope is that repatriation at least marks the end of injustice for Ahmed,” adding he had “16 long and painful years in captivity.”
Justifying the divisive appointment, the self-described socialist mayor of NYC claimed, “I will turn to Ramzi for his remarkable experience and his commitment to defending those too often abandoned by our legal system.”
Mamdani continued his comments, saying, “City Hall will be stronger with him in it, and our work of building a more prosperous city for all will have a powerful advocate. My sincere hope is that New Yorkers who have long felt on the margins of this city, the homeless veteran straining to survive, the patient searching for the care that they need, an immigrant trying to get by, will feel that they now have leaders in their corner who understand their struggles and care to fight for them.”
Building on this remark, Mamdani noted that this was an essential part of his vision for the city, saying, “That is the city I want to build. The prosperity I intend to deliver and the leadership that has too long been lacking.”
Reacting to the appointment, Ramzi Kassem added, “I consider it a ‘call of duty to serve the city that I’ve called home, the city that embraced me.'” Describing his background, the divisive lawyer kept going.
"*" indicates required fields
“I grew up in war-torn countries in the Middle East, authoritarian regimes, and New York City was really my first stable and permanent home,” Kassem said, “This is an opportunity for me to repay that debt. I’ve been trying to repay that debt ever since I came to this country, ever since I immigrated.”
Criticising this controversial appointment, Ken Frydman, a political analyst, expressed a shared sense of objection. “Everyone’s entitled to legal representation … even Mahmoud Khalil. But that doesn’t mean Ramzi Kassem had to represent him,” he quipped.
Offering another vague statement, the far-left mayor claimed, “The rule-of-law is the bedrock of good governance, effective leadership, and a city that works for working people. With Steve Banks and Ramzi Kassem as my Corporations and Chief Counsel, our City will not only operate in accordance with the law, but will understand and employ it as a critical tool in the fight for working people and to protect their safety and fundamental freedoms.”
Watch Kristi Noem comment on how Mamdani might be in conflict with the US Constitution here:
Featured image: Bingjiefu He, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons