House Judiciary Committee ranking member Jerry Nadler (D-NY) is joining a chorus of state and national Democrats calling on New York City Mayor Eric Adams to resign after his federal indictment on corruption charges.
Like other prominent New York Democrats, such as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Nadler said in a post to X on Friday that he believes that the charges against Adams are “very serious.” However, Nadler went a step further to call on Adams to step down.
“I have long been a defender of civil rights and civil liberties, and I strongly believe that every individual, no matter who they are, is guaranteed due process under the law,” Nadler said, adding that Adams should be “treated as presumed innocent until proven guilty.”
“However, there are questions of whether the Mayor can continue to effectively lead our City as Mayor at this time. My belief is that the Mayor has lost the ability to effectively lead the City of New York, and therefore, he must resign,” Nadler continued.
Nadler joins Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) as the leading members of the New York delegation asking Adams to step down after he was indicted this week on charges of corruption, bribery, and receiving foreign campaign contributions.
Many state Democrats have asked Adams to resign, especially in the wake of several investigations involving the mayor and members of his administration. Various political groups, such as the New York City Democratic Socialists and the New York Working Families Party, have asked him to step down as well.
The New York Conservative Party has called on Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) to remove Adams from office. Hochul has not commented on the matter.
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Nadler’s request that Adams resign comes as the mayor arrived in court on Friday for his arraignment. He pleaded not guilty to corruption charges.
Republicans are seeing the corruption charges as an open door into possible victories in the 2024 election, while Democrats are brushing off claims that Adams’s indictment will have a broader impact on candidates and incumbents.