Lina Khan — Pakistani-American co-chairing Mamdani's transition team

New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani has appointed former US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) chairperson Lina Maliha Khan, a renowned Pakistani-American legal scholar, to co-chair his transition team, he announced. Maamdani, 34, the first Muslim and a South Asian, will be sworn in on January 1, 2026. He will lead the biggest city in the US, a job which comes with a $116 billion budget and global scrutiny. Khan, 36, who led the FTC during the Biden administration, will co-lead the Mamdani transition team with three other veterans of New York City Hall, the seat of the local government, the mayor-elect announced in a statement.