Rep. Jerry Nadler, dean of New York’s congressional delegation, added his voice on Friday to those demanding Mayor Eric Adams’ resignation — becoming the most senior Democratic Party official to join the calls so far.
In a statement on social media, Nadler said Adams is innocent until proven guilty and “deserves the right to due process.” But, Nadler wrote, “My belief is that the mayor has lost the ability to effectively lead the City of New York, and therefore, he must resign.”
Nadler is the highest-ranking Democrat to call for Adams to step down since news broke late Wednesday of the mayor’s indictment. On Thursday, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams unsealed a five-count charging document alleging that Adams illegally accepted bribes and campaign contributions from foreign nationals seeking to influence a rising star in New York politics. The mayor pleaded not guilty Friday.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, both Brooklyn Democrats, acknowledged the weight of the charges against Adams on Thursday, but stopped short of calling for his resignation.
“Like every other New Yorker and American, Eric Adams is entitled to the presumption of innocence,” Jeffries wrote in a statement Thursday.
Schumer’s statement the same day said “no one is above the law” and called for the legal process to proceed “speedily and fairly.”
A spokesperson for Adams did not immediately return a request for comment. The mayor has so far resisted a deluge of calls for him to step aside, which have largely come from members of his own party.
“Listen, I’m here. I was elected by the people of the city,” Adams said to reporters outside Gracie Mansion on Thursday.
Should key Democrats decide they want Adams out, at least one of them has the power to make it happen. Gov. Kathy Hochul can remove the mayor thanks to provisions in both the city charter and New York state law.
On Thursday night, the governor released a statement that did not call on Adams to resign, but did say she was examining the tools at her disposal.
“While I review my options and obligations as the Governor of New York, I expect the Mayor to take the next few days to review the situation and find an appropriate path forward to ensure the people of New York City are being well-served by their leaders,” Hochul said on Thursday.
City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, who went to the same high school as the mayor, said on Thursday she was not ready to ask him to resign. She called the decision a “personal choice” he had to make for himself.
“I ask the mayor to seriously and honestly consider whether full attention can be given to deserving New Yorkers who need our government to be sound and stable,” the speaker said.
Even before the indictment, Adams was facing calls to step down from his party’s left flank, whose members argued that he could not effectively govern amid investigations and multiple high-profile resignations from his administration.
The most visible of these demands came from Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who called on the mayor to resign just hours before news broke of his indictment.