New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani released his “Preliminary Citywide Racial Equity Plan” on Monday, which quickly prompted pushback from conservatives online and skepticism from President Donald Trump’s Justice Department, with one top official saying she will “review” the move. 

Mamdani’s office explained in a press release that the preliminary report, which the mayor had promised to release within 100 days in office, shows racial disparities in areas like housing, education, and income, and the new plan aims to “establish a new framework for how New York City measures affordability, understands inequity and plans for a more equitable future.”

“The True Cost of Living Measure offers an honest account of what it actually costs to live in this city — and who is being left behind. It shows that this is not a crisis affecting a small minority of New Yorkers. It is a crisis touching the vast majority of our city, in every borough and every neighborhood,” Mamdani said in the press release.

“But we know this crisis is not felt equally. Black and Latino New Yorkers — who have been pushed out of this city for decades — are bearing the brunt. The Preliminary Racial Equity Plan is where we begin to reverse that pattern. These reports make one thing clear: we cannot tackle systemic racial inequity without confronting the affordability crisis head-on, and we cannot solve the cost-of-living crisis without dismantling systemic racial inequity.”

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Mamdani’s announcement quickly sparked pushback from conservatives, as well as from the Trump administration, expressing concerns about race-based initiatives and spending which the administration has been working to undo since taking power last year.

“Sounds fishy/illegal,” DOJ Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon posted on X. “Will review!”

“Straight-up racism against White people,” conservative influencer account Libs of TikTok posted on X. 

“The reality is Mamdani is implementing blatantly racist policies that reward and punish people based on their skin color,” conservative commentator Paul A. Szypula posted on X.

The city billed the racial equity plan as the “first time any New York City administration has required major city agencies to examine their work through a racial equity lens and identify and eliminate disparities” and said the plan sets goals across seven domains that include: “Children, Youth, Older Adults and Families; Economy; Housing and Preservation; Infrastructure and Environment; Health and Wellbeing; Community Safety, Rights and Accountability; and Good Governance and Inclusive Decision-Making.”

The report cites a sizable gap in the median net worth of white households compared to Black households while reporting that Black New Yorkers also have a lower life expectancy and suggests the way to address those gaps is an expansive framework featuring more than 200 agency-level goals, over 800 proposed strategies, and roughly 600 performance indicators intended to track progress over time.

“Inequity has been embedded in the foundation of our city and nation since their inception; dismantling it requires a collective effort,” NYC Chief Equity Officer and NYC Mayor’s Office of Equity & Racial Justice Commissioner Afua Atta-Mensah said in Monday’s press release.

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“The NYC Preliminary Citywide Racial Equity Plan reflects the city’s commitment to systemic transformation—turning our values into actions. From housing and healthcare to education and infrastructure, every agency plays a pivotal role in reshaping how government serves New Yorkers. This plan outlines measurable goals and actionable strategies to advance racial equity, promote justice and create lasting change.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani’s office and the DOJ for comment.

Dating back to his mayoral campaign, Mamdani has faced intense criticism for his focus on race and “equity, including a policy proposal, “Stop the Squeeze on NYC Homeowners,” that outlined his plans to “shift the tax burden from overtaxed homeowners in the outer boroughs to more expensive homes in richer and Whiter neighborhoods.” 

In February, Mamdani faced criticism over his budget plan that stated the Office of Racial Equity would receive $5.6 million annually, while the Commission on Racial Equity would be allocated $4.6 million, a combined total of $10.2 million. The new figure represents roughly a $3 million increase — or about a 42% jump — from the approximately $7.2 million allocated last year.

Fox News Digital’s Amanda Macias contributed to this report.

Virginia’s Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger was swept into the governor’s mansion on a deep blue wave last November, but has seen her popularity plummet after less than 3 months in office.

Forty-six percent of Virginians disapprove of her job performance, while 47% approve. Compared to Virginia governors from both sides of the aisle since 1994, Spanberger has the highest disapproval rating at this point in her term.

In contrast, predecessor Gov. Glenn Youngkin saw a 54-39 job approval at this point in his term, with the highest favorability going to Democrat Mark Warner – now Virginia’s senior senator – with a 78-20 rating.

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Warner’s current counterpart, Sen. Tim Kaine, was at 62-31, GOP Gov. Jim Gilmore III at 63-30, Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell at 59-39 and Democrats Terry McAuliffe and Ralph Northam at 52-30 and 48-37 respectively.

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Spanberger defeated then-Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears by 15 points in November and completely flipped statewide offices to Democrats Ghazala Hashmi for lieutenant governor and Jay Jones for attorney general.

The Post pointed out that while Spanberger’s favorability was narrow, her win dwarfed that of Youngkin’s over McAuliffe in 2021 – and the Falls Church business executive’s favorability was several points higher than hers.

George Mason University Policy & Government Dean Mark Rozell, a co-sponsor of the poll, told the Post that while some bit of political polarization is “baked in,” it was “unusual” to see such a result for Spanberger this early in her term after a campaign on a “centrist image.”

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Seven percent of Virginians, however, by contrast, cite her tenure as “too conservative.”

Spanberger’s shift on gerrymandering was recently evinced through redistricting referendum critics citing her own 2019 words back to her in recent mailers, according to reports.

“Gerrymandering is detrimental to our democracy and it weakens the individual voices that form our electorates. Opposing gerrymandering should be a bipartisan priority,” Spanberger tweeted six years ago when Virginia considered its ultimately successful bid to remove map-redrawing power from the partisan legislature.

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However, Spanberger’s office recently denied claims that there had been any internal deals made involving her personally to help get more Democrats elected, particularly in the case of the Second Congressional District in Hampton Roads and the Eastern Shore.

Spanberger has also received criticism for appearing to pivot on gun control, from a moderate stance while in Congress favoring commonsense reforms and citing her resume as a former gun-toting CIA agent and postal inspector, to a governor poised to sign sweeping gun bans drafted by far-left Fairfax Democrats.

“I’m a mother of three girls in Virginia Public Schools. I’m also a former federal agent who carried a gun every single day for my job,” she said at a 2025 rally. “So I come at this issue as someone who cares deeply about the safety of our kids and as someone who understands the responsibilities of owning and of carrying a firearm.”

The redistricting referendum has been criticized for unfairly empowering Spanberger’s base counties, as five newly-drawn districts would originate in Fairfax and envelop – and critics say overpower – the voices of rural central and Western Virginia.

One such district in particular, unfavorably shaped like a lobster according to critics, already has three notable Democratic candidates – gun control bill sponsor State Del. Dan Helmer of Fairfax, former first lady Dorothy McAuliffe, and former Jack Smith deputy JP Cooney – despite the referendum not being officially decided by the voters until April 21.

Fox News Digital reached out to Spanberger for comment.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin raised the possibility of restricting customs privileges at airports in sanctuary cities during an appearance on “Special Report” Monday.

In his first interview as secretary, Mullin told Fox News that DHS will be taking a closer look at customs enforcement operations at major international airports located in sanctuary jurisdictions, questioning their efficacy.

“If they’re a sanctuary city, should they really be processing customs into their city?” Mullin asked.

“If they’re a sanctuary city and they’re receiving international flights, and we’re asking them to partner with us at the airport, but once they walk out of the airport, they’re not going to enforce immigration policy — maybe we need to have a really hard look at that.”

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Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) are examples of major customs hubs that DHS could be looking into, as both are located in sanctuary cities. According to Port Authority, roughly 3 million people pass through customs each month at JFK.

“I’m going to have to be forced to make hard decisions,” Mullin said. “I am not going outside the policies that Congress passed for me, and we’re not trying to push those, but we’re saying you’ve got to partner with us.”

Mullin also warned that sanctuary cities more broadly may be at risk under his leadership of DHS, claiming they are unlawful.

“I believe sanctuary cities, it’s not lawful,” he told Fox News chief political anchor Bret Baier. “I don’t think they’re able to do that. And so, we’re going to take a hard look at this.”

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Mullin took the helm of DHS after his predecessor, Kristi Noem, was fired by President Donald Trump March 5, after she carried out Trump’s mass-deportation agenda for more than a year.

Trump was reportedly “furious” with Noem saying during a Senate hearing that he knew about a taxpayer-funded ad contract. The White House told Fox News Digital Trump did not know about the contract.

Mullin shared his plans for leading the department that has become embattled with controversy.

“My job is to empower them [employees] to do their jobs,” he explained. “How do I make sure that they have the tools and the assets they need and the manpower they need to be able to go out and deliver the mission that Congress and the president has tasked us with?”

During his confirmation hearing, Mullin said one goal is that within six months, he hopes DHS will not be in the headlines every day.

“Right now, we get more correspondence from media than the White House does,” Mullin revealed.

“It’s become such a political hotbed. And really, why is Department of Homeland such a political hotbed? All they’re doing is trying to keep our streets safe, trying to keep our nation secure, trying to keep bad actors from having terrorist attacks on the homeland. It should be something we all get behind,” he added.

Mullin also spoke about the ongoing partial government shutdown as Congress fails to agree on a funding plan for DHS. He accused Democrats of putting the country in a vulnerable state amid conflict with Iran.

“It’s putting our mission at risk,” he said. “We have some very challenging times right now.”

“How we get past this is that we’ve got to put the partisan bickering aside and say, ‘What’s best for America? What’s best for moving forward?'”