Mayor Mamdani still waiting on federal security clearance 8 months into office

Since taking office, Mayor Zohran Mamdani has faced threats on his life, a botched terror attack outside of Gracie Mansion and global upheaval caused by wars in the Middle East.

But after eight months, Mamdani is still waiting to be approved for a high-level security clearance from the federal government. Officials with a clearance may receive classified briefings from federal officials on terrorism and other threats.

Former officials say the delay could prevent Mamdani from getting a complete picture of a potential or ongoing crisis.

“It is vitally important for a mayor to have security clearance,” said former Mayor Bill de Blasio, who faced a similar delay in part because he applied late. “Every mayor deserves to have all the best information available to be able to protect New Yorkers.”

If the federal government were to deny Mamdani’s security clearance, it would be “an affront to the democratic will” of those who elected him, de Blasio said.

Mamdani is not the first mayor to wait months for a federal clearance. But Mamdani’s approval comes amid unprecedented upheaval in the federal government, President Donald Trump’s politicization of security clearances and persistent delays in the clearance process.

The FBI typically handles security clearances for New York City mayors. Those applying for a clearance must fill out extensive paperwork and submit to an interview. Agents speak with family, friends and distant acquaintances, people familiar with the process said.

The FBI did not respond to a request for comment.

With the exception of de Blasio, recent New York City mayors have been granted clearances relatively quickly. Former Mayor Eric Adams received a security clearance within the first five months of his term, according to a former city official familiar with the process. Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who was elected less than two months after the 9/11 attacks, received his clearance within four months, according to a former Bloomberg official.

Both former officials did not want to comment publicly about an issue facing the current administration.

Mamdani told reporters in January he was in the process of applying for his security clearance.

“The process of obtaining the mayor’s federal security clearance is ongoing and proceeding within the currently prevailing timeline for one," City Hall spokesperson Sam Raskin said. "The NYPD regularly briefs the mayor, as appropriate, on non-federally classified investigations and information.”

Christopher O’Leary, a former FBI official who was in charge of the New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, said it was unusual for a mayor to be approaching his first full year in office without a clearance.

“You would assume the mayor of New York, one of the senior most elected officials in the country, would go to the front of the line, and in normal cases it would,” O’Leary said.

O’Leary said the lengthy process could be due to a more time-consuming vetting. “That doesn't mean there's anything necessarily alarming,” he said. “They just want to make sure that if we're going to give you access to this information, that you can be trusted with it.”

But politics may also be at play. Trump has revoked security clearances to punish his enemies, including New York State Attorney General Letitia James and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Federal watchdogs have also found extensive delays in the clearance process in recent years as the government slowly implements reform.

Since his election, Mamdani has faced right-wing attacks over his pro-Palestinian activism and criticism of Israel. Last November, a group of eight Republican lawmakers wrote a letter urging the Department of Homeland Security to deny Mamdani a security clearance. They cited his co-founding of a student chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine and pointed to the national wing of SJP’s description of Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel as a “historic win for the Palestinian resistance." The letter also invoked Mamdani’s past protests of the NYPD.

A Homeland Security spokesperson directed Gothamist’s questions to the FBI.

Critics, including former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, called on Mamdani not to attend Friday’s 9/11 ceremony, accusing Mamdani of having an ideological opposition to America, as well as his previous refusal to condemn the slogan “globalize the intifada.”

Sabrina Shroff, a longtime federal defender who has a security clearance that allows her to review classified evidence, described a painstaking vetting process. She said the FBI will interview references, family members, and even remote connections. During her background investigation, investigators questioned a neighbor she had never spoken with. She said she was asked to list all foreign travel going back a decade.

“They're looking to see if the person that wants the clearance has anything in their background that would lead them to be threatened or coerced into revealing national security information,” she said.

When asked in March about his lack of a security clearance, Mamdani downplayed the issue. “This has in no way impeded our abilities to respond both to the day-to-day needs of New Yorkers as well as to respond to the current crisis at hand,” he said.

Former Police Commissioner Ray Kelly agreed, saying he did not see the mayor’s lack of a security clearance as an issue. He also said the lengthy approval process did not strike him as unusual. “It can go over a year,” he said.

Within Mamdani’s administration, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, First Deputy Mayor Dean Fuleihan and the mayor’s chief counsel, Ramzi Kassem, have security clearances, according to the mayor’s office.

By law, classified briefings must be kept confidential, which means that the mayor’s top aides are not allowed to disclose what they have learned to the mayor.

Former First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro, who has a clearance, said he sat in on classified briefings alongside Adams during his short stint at City Hall.

“It’s better when a mayor has a security clearance,” he said. “You want the mayor to be able to participate directly in receiving such briefings.”