New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Friday he and President Donald Trump brokered a deal on new SNAP requirements that would affect small businesses nationwide.
“I have spoken to President Trump and [Agriculture Secretary Brooke] Rollins, and as a result of those conversations, the president has agreed to give small business owners at least a 90-day extension to comply with a rule that would have affected tens of thousands of SNAP-accepting grocery stores and bodegas nationwide,” Mamadani said at a press conference. New regulations that were set to take effect last week outlined stricter requirements for the types of produce businesses could keep in stock, and stores unable to comply would lose authorization to accept food stamps.
“I want to thank the president and the secretary for their consideration of New Yorkers and the hardship that this would have imposed on millions of Americans. In doing this, President Trump has delivered relief to small business owners across our city and across America.” Mamdani said he was concerned that small businesses would be unable to comply with the regulations on time, and that consumers would face higher prices as a result.
Mamdani and Trump have developed a relatively amicable relationship despite the former’s socialist and progressive views. Mamdani has firmly maintained his anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement stance since taking office in January, but has found common ground with Trump on other issues.
During a recent appearance on Morning Joe, the mayor was asked about working with Trump. Democrats have already begun quarreling over whether, and the extent to which, they should collaborate with Trump following their resounding victory in the 2026 midterm elections.
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“You know, I think you can. And I think what it requires is both being honest about the fact that there are significant policy disagreements the president and I have with each other, and looking for a place of shared purpose. For the two of us, it’s the welfare of New York City. And in the meetings that we’ve had, we’ve been able to free a New Yorker from ICE detention, secure a visa for a mother who would otherwise have to grieve her son from thousands of miles away, and take the steps toward building more housing in a development than this city has seen since the early 1970s. And I think that, at the end of the day, is what politics has to be: finding a way to work with whomever you can to deliver something for the people who trust.”
Centrist lawmakers who won traditionally red states such as Texas and Kansas will have to grapple with how to work alongside Democratic colleagues whose views may be offensive to voters in those regions. Intense debates regarding Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY)’s future have already begun, as many progressive Democrats view him as being representative of an establishment they’ve worked to do away with. Mamdani’s rise paved the way for the success of many socialist candidates in Democratic primaries throughout the spring and summer.
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
