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As the government shutdown stretches over a month, one left-wing figure has emerged as House Republicans’ most-cited political boogeyman — and it’s not either of the top two Democrats in Congress.
Instead, it’s Zohran Mamdani, a New York State assemblyman and self-proclaimed democratic socialist who is running for mayor more than 200 miles away in New York City.
“You’ve seen their party get pulled further to the socialist left, and it started when [Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.] beat Joe Crowley. And ever since then, Democrats have been afraid of that kind of emerging wing of their party,” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., told Fox News Digital when asked why GOP leaders are invoking Mamdani so often.
“Today, they are the center of the Democrat Party. They are running the Democrat Party, and you can see it, Mamdani is the one that they’re all scared of and they’re all listening to.”
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Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani participates in the second New York City mayoral debate with independent candidate and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa at LaGuardia Performing Arts Center at LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City, Queens, New York, Oct. 22, 2025. (Hiroko Masuike/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
He pointed to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and his recent endorsement of Mamdani.
“It’s changed how they run their whole party operation, because they’re afraid of the left base of the party, which is really headed by Mamdani now,” Scalise said.
House GOP leaders or speakers at their daily shutdown press conferences brought up Mamdani both directly and indirectly at every one of their press conferences last week.
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Speaker Mike Johnson after his press conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Oct. 28, 2025. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo)
At his Thursday press conference, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., accused the media of criticizing his frequent commentary on the New York City socialist.
“Amazingly, the media is criticizing Republicans for fixating on Mamdani. I read some of that yesterday. This socialist uprising is something that we have a responsibility to call out and sound the alarms. That’s what elected representatives of the people are supposed to do,” Johnson said.
“And we take that responsibility seriously. And obviously, Mamdani is a big issue here in the halls of Congress. Why? Because the second-highest ranked Democrat in the country, Leader Jeffries, endorsed him.”
Republicans have also taken to calling him “commie Mamdani” recently, a nickname debuted by House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., during a shutdown press conference where House GOP leaders invited Republicans in New York’s congressional delegation to speak.
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa participate in the second New York City mayoral debate at LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City, Queens, New York City, Oct. 22, 2025. (Hiroko Masuike/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
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Mamdani himself criticized Johnson at one point for his focus on him earlier this month.
“Speaker Johnson should be seating members of Congress, as opposed to using his time to try and attack our campaign,” Mamdani fired back from Manhattan on Monday.
“But I understand if I was one of the leaders of the Republican Party that had led a campaign that promised Americans a lower cost of living and cheaper groceries, and all I could deliver for them was a government shutdown, then I, too, would be looking to distract in any way that I could from those lack of results.”
