Reports: Trump Offers Adams Job to Exit Mayoral Race

New York City Mayor Eric Adams has been reluctant to abandon his bid for reelection — but an influential post in President Donald Trump’s administration could incentivize him to bow out and make it easier to halt Zohran Mamdani’s rise.

Adams has been offered a position at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, according to a person with direct knowledge of the offer who was granted anonymity to speak candidly about a sensitive matter.

The mayor, who has a friendly working and political relationship with Trump, met with the president’s team during his visit Tuesday to Florida, two people familiar with the plans said.

A White House official would neither confirm nor deny that Trump advisers are talking with Adams.

The Trump administration’s machinations were first reported by The New York Times, which also reported discussions of finding a position for Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa to get him out of the race. Sliwa has previously rejected the idea of serving in the Trump administration.

Worried about New York City being led by a democratic socialist, Republicans, centrist Democrats and business community leaders have been eager to consolidate anti-Mamdani voters behind one candidate. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat and former governor who’s running as an independent, has been their preferred choice for defeating Mamdani, the Democratic nominee.

But Cuomo lost decisively to the novice state assemblymember in the June Democratic primary in a shock to the Democratic establishment. Cuomo is still polling far behind Mamdani in the general election, but some surveys suggest he could defeat Mamdani head-to-head, thanks to support from Republican and independent voters.

Adams did not directly deny meeting with Trump advisers during his recent jaunt to the state the president now calls his permanent residence. And he notably did not give a definitive “no” when asked if he plans to drop out of the race for mayor.

The mayor said Wednesday morning that he met in Florida with the mayor of Miami. “I met with some of his team,” he told Fox 5 New York. “I met with several elected officials, and again, if there’s any changes in this race, I will announce that.”

Adams’ electability began to take a hit when he faced federal corruption charges. The Trump Department of Justice moved to drop the charges, and a federal judge dismissed the case with prejudice in April. The mayor has rejected the accusation that he is beholden to Trump as a result.

The blueprint to potentially get Adams and Sliwa out of the race by appointing them to Trump administration posts is heavily complicated by Trump’s deep unpopularity in heavily Democratic New York City — where any whiff of his involvement in the mayoral race would create a politically toxic sludge for Cuomo.

Mamdani has been eager to tie his rivals closely to Trump.

“Today’s news confirms it: Cuomo is Trump’s choice for Mayor. The White House is considering jobs for Adams and Sliwa to clear the field,” the Democratic nominee for mayor posted on X. “New Yorkers are sick of corrupt politics and backroom deals. No matter who’s running, we will deliver a better future on November 4.”

Mamdani’s campaign also called an emergency news conference to address the Times report about Trump and Adams.

Cuomo has denied speaking directly with the president about the election in New York City.

Privately though, the former governor has been hopeful for Trump’s involvement in the race. At an August fundraiser in the Hamptons he told supporters that Trump and fellow GOP leaders would minimize Sliwa’s impact by telling Republicans not to waste their vote on him, POLITICO exclusively reported.

A second person familiar with the discussion about Adams’ future told POLITICO on Wednesday that the HUD position was first floated shortly after the mayor’s memorable “Fox & Friends” interview alongside Tom Homan. The Trump border czar had said he’d be “up his butt, saying, ‘Where the hell is the agreement we came to?’” if Adams didn’t help with immigration enforcement.

The proposed position was “something in HUD, like cities director or director of cities, how to get cities up and running again,” said the person granted anonymity to discuss a situation in flux.

In the past, Adams has shot down questions about whether he would drop out of the race or serve in the Trump administration, but on Wednesday he struck a different tone.

“To say, ‘Would you take a job in the administration?’ or would I take it somewhere else — that’s hypothetical,” the mayor told reporters. “I’m running for office. And I’m going to finish doing that. I’ve got work to do. I’ve got more ribbons to cut before I finish up this term.”

In a statement, Adams’ campaign spokesperson Todd Shapiro denied the mayor has been offered a HUD position. Shapiro also said he has not met with Donald Trump and is not leaving the race.

“Although Mayor Adams has been the most pro-housing mayor in New York City’s history, at no time did he ask for — nor was he offered — a job at HUD,” Shapiro said. “Over the last few years, the Mayor has shown his ability to block out the noise and stay focused on delivering for New Yorkers. … And if the HUD job does open, Andrew Cuomo held that position before and can always continue where he left off.”

Sliwa said he hasn’t talked to the White House and wouldn’t want a job anyway.

“I have not been contacted by the White House, and I’m not interested in a job with the White House,” he said in a statement. “My focus is right here in New York. I’m the only candidate on a major party line who can defeat Mamdani, and I’m committed to carrying this fight through to Election Day. The people of New York City deserve a mayor who truly cares.”

Republican megadonor and New York political scene staple John Catsimatidis, who is close to both Adams and Trump, told POLITICO that he did not know about a potential offer to join the Trump administration but speaks regularly with the president and knows he wants a viable alternative to Mamdani.

“I have said President Trump loves New York,” Catsimatidis said. “My opinion is he does not want a socialist to be mayor of New York. New York is the capitalist capital of the world and should continue to be that.”