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Mamdani sworn in by AG James in private midnight ceremony
By Andrew Miller
Published January 01, 2026
New York City Socialist Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani was officially sworn in as mayor in a midnight ceremony by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
"This is truly the honor and the privilege of a lifetime," Mamdani said in a brief speech.
The early Thursday morning event was a private ceremony where Mamdani was accompanied by family members at the Old City Hall Station, a decommissioned subway station with deep historical roots.
In his first speech as mayor, Mamdani called the historic subway station a "testament to the importance of public transit to the vitality, the health and the legacy of our city."
He also announced the appointment of Mike Flynn as his new Department of Transportation commissioner.
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New York Attorney General Letitia James, left, administers the oath of office to Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, center, as his wife Rama Duwaji looks on, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
In a press release, the Mamdani transition team said the midnight swearing was chosen to be at a location symbolizing how the subway system is the "lifeblood of New York" and a "reminder of the city Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is fighting for: a city built by and for New Yorkers."
"When Old City Hall Station first opened in 1904 — one of New York’s 28 original subway stations — it was a physical monument to a city that dared to be both beautiful and build great things that would transform working peoples’ lives. That ambition need not be a memory confined only to our past, nor must it be isolated only to the tunnels beneath City Hall: it will be the purpose of the administration fortunate enough to serve New Yorkers from the building above," Mamdani said in the press release.
Before the ceremony, he stated that upon taking his oath, "from the station at the dawn of the New Year, I will do so, humbled by the opportunity to lead millions of New Yorkers into a new era of opportunity, and honored to carry forward our city’s legacy of greatness."
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New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani signs a registry as City Clerk Michael McSweeney holds the book after Mamdani was sworn in as mayor, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Mamdani used a Quran during his swearing-in ceremony, according to his campaign, making him the first Muslim mayor of NYC and the first to be sworn in using a Quran.
On Thursday afternoon, Mamdani will be sworn in publicly by Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders after opening remarks are delivered at his 1 p.m. inauguration by another progressive ally, Dem. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Typically, inauguration tickets are given out to roughly 4,000 people, but the Mamdani transition team says all New Yorkers will be invited to the inauguration and a block party immediately following.
The 1 p.m. inauguration will take place on the steps of City Hall.
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Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, center, arrives with his wife Rama Duwaji for a swearing-in ceremony, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Mamdani soundly defeated former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa in early November, capping off a rapid political ascent that started with single-digit support when he announced his mayoral campaign in October 2024.
The new mayor closed the ceremony with a smile, telling those gathered, "Thank you all so much, now I will see you later," before heading up a flight of stairs.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/mamdani-sworn-ag-james-private-midnight-ceremony