Fox News Politics Newsletter: Trump, Mamdani front-and-center in Empire State battle

Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content. Here's what's happening…

-Obama once urged Black men to back Harris — then he, Democrats reversed race rhetoric legacy in 2025

-Duffy says air travel may take ‘days if not a week’ to return to normal, even after shutdown ends

-Justice Barrett urges students to 'take the high road like Erika Kirk' amid campus hostility

President Donald Trump and New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani are not on the ballot next year, but they are smack in the political spotlight in New York State's 2026 race for governor.

Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik, in her first interview after declaring her candidacy for governor on Friday, linked Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul to Mamdani, the 34-year-old socialist state lawmaker who won election on Tuesday as New York City mayor.

"Kathy Hochul endorsed him and bent the knee," Stefanik charged in an appearance on Fox News' "Fox & Friends," as she pointed to Mamdani, who she claimed is "a raging anti-Semite, pro-Hamas communist who wants to raise taxes."…READ MORE.
 

Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., leaves a House Republican Conference meeting with President Donald Trump on the budget reconciliation bill in the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, May 20, 2025.  (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

BENEFITS BATTLE: DOJ accuses federal judge of making ‘mockery of separation of powers’ in SNAP appeal

An EBT sign is displayed on the window of a grocery store on October 30, 2025 in the Flatbush neighborhood of the Brooklyn borough in New York City.About 42 million Americans are expected to lose access to their benefits. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images) ((Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images))

RESEARCH DOLLARS: Cornell University to pay $60M in deal with Trump administration to restore federal funding

DEAL OR NO DEAL: Trump considers granting Hungary potential exemption on Russian oil just weeks after imposing sanctions

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban visiting President Donald Trump at the White House Nov. 7, 2025, for a bilateral meeting focused on oil and trade.  (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

COMMANDING RESPECT: Trump says Hungary's border stance keeps crime down, says Europe 'flooding' with migrants

DRAGON SETS SAIL: China launches third aircraft carrier as Xi pushes military modernization against US influence

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, a commissioning and flag-presenting ceremony of the Fujian, China's third aircraft carrier and the first that it has both designed and built itself equipped with electromagnetic catapults, seen on right at a naval port in Sanya city in southern China's Hainan Province, on Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025. (Li Gang/Xinhua via AP)

STALEMATE SHIFT: Schumer, Dems unveil alternative shutdown plan, ask for one-year extension to Obamacare subsidies

'WHEELS CAME OFF': Thune says 'wheels came off' as Republicans mull next shutdown move

Senate Majority Leader John Thune speaks during a press conference with Senate Republican leadership following a policy luncheon on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on October 28. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)

NO DEAL IN SIGHT: Sen Kennedy says shutdown could last 2 more weeks amid ongoing Obamacare dispute

'TWISTED IRONY': 'Twisted irony': Democrats risk betraying their own pet issues with government shutdown gamble

GROUNDED NATION: House Democrat sides with Trump officials on air traffic cuts amid shutdown chaos

Democratic Rep. Greg Stanton said the Trump administration's decrease in air traffic was the "right call." (Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images; Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images )

'FALSE NARRATIVE': Nancy Mace’s ex claims she fabricated sexual assault allegations in plot with friend’s estranged wife: report

STOP THE GAMES: Charlamagne Tha God calls on Dems to 'stop playing politics with people's lives' and reopen the government

SCANDALOUS CHOICE: Jay Jones' transition team to be co-led by ex-governor from blackface scandal, abortion outrage

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 04: New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani celebrates as he takes the stage at his election night watch party at the Brooklyn Paramount on November 4, 2025 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Mamdani defeated Independent candidate Andrew Cuomo and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa in the closely watched election for New York City mayor.  (Michael M. Santiago/Getty)

UNDER WATCH: ADL launches ‘Mamdani Monitor’ to track NYC Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani over antisemitism concerns

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This article was written by Fox News staff.