National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said Sunday that the White House is "reassured" by New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani's decision to keep Jessica Tisch as the city's police commissioner.
Hassett made the comments in an interview on CNN, days after Tisch announced she was accepting Mamdani's offer to remain top cop of the New York Police Department.
"We are really reassured that [Mamdani has] kept the police commissioner. In previous administrations in New York, we have seen law and order really go south," Hassett said, The Hill reported.
Tisch was appointed NYPD commissioner in 2024 by Mayor Eric Adams. Her future under Mamdani was far from certain, given the democratic socialist's past criticism of police and his reform-focused campaign platform.
"I've spoken to Mayor-elect Mamdani several times, and I'm ready to serve with honor as his Police Commissioner," Tisch said in a statement Wednesday. "That's because he and I share many of the same public safety goals for New York City: lowering crime, making communities safer, rooting out corruption, and giving our officers the tools, support, and resources they need to carry out their noble work."
Hassett said that the Trump administration is seeing that as a "sign that maybe he'll be able to work together with" the president.
"We're at times disagreeing about policies, but I think that the objective of making life better for everybody is something that a lot of people share on the Democratic and Republican side," Hassett added.
Mamdani has a long record of harsh criticism toward the NYPD.
In 2020, during the height of the "defund the police" movement, Mamdani described the department as "racist, anti-queer, and a major threat to public safety," urging deep cuts to its budget and authority. He backed activist campaigns accusing the NYPD of systemic abuse and called for a fundamental restructuring of policing in New York City.
By his 2025 campaign, however, Mamdani publicly walked back those statements, saying his earlier posts were "out of step" with his current views as public scrutiny intensified.
President Donald Trump struck a noticeably conciliatory tone toward Mamdani after their Oval Office meeting on Friday. He praised Mamdani's election performance, calling him "a very rational person" and saying he expects to work with him rather than stand in his way.
Trump emphasized shared goals around public safety, housing, and affordability, saying, "We agree on a lot more than I would have thought."
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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