WASHINGTON – Competitiveness Coalition Chairman Ronna McDaniel issued the following statement after Democratic Socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced that Lina Khan, former Biden Federal Trade Commission Chair, will oversee the city’s Economic Development Corporation:
“Mayor Zohran Mamdani handing the keys of New York City’s economic engine to Lina Khan is an assault on the city’s job creators, local businesses, and working families already struggling to operate in one of the most heavily regulated and highest taxed cities in the country,” said Competitiveness Coalition Chairman Ronna McDaniel. “The Economic Development Corporation exists to expand the economy, attract private investment and jobs, and foster innovation. Entrusting that mission to an activist regulator whose federal tenure was defined by hostility toward enterprise, severe agency mismanagement, and job losses is a disaster in the making for New Yorkers. Khan joining a self-described Democratic Socialist’s administration underscores how radical her views are and demonstrates that the architects of Bidenomics are not done driving our economy and country into a ditch.”
As reported by The New York Times, Khan conducted interviews of potential candidates to lead the Economic Development Corporation. According to the report, “her questions did not focus heavily on issues long central to the agency’s mission,” and “several economic development experts expressed concern about the apparent lack of emphasis…on job creation and expanding the city’s tax base…”
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