Eric Adams faces pressure to resign as New York Democrats plot next moves

New York City Mayor Eric Adams, the rank-and-file transit cop who rose to the city’s most powerful office, is no longer the master of his political destiny.

Indicted on federal corruption charges unsealed Thursday, Adams’ fate will be decided in the coming days and weeks, as the defiant mayor dials up his attacks on prosecutors who say he brazenly stole from the city he promised to secure.

Adams maintains his innocence and says he is focused on being mayor. Whether he remains in that job, however, is an open question. Interviews with nearly a dozen Democratic operatives and donors, lobbyists and city officials yielded a picture of a mayor on the brink and a city government near paralyzed by weeks of upheaval.

Rumors surrounding the mayor’s assorted legal troubles, including four ongoing federal investigations, dominated New York political chatter over the past few weeks, with leading operatives openly speculating about when – not if – the charges would be brought and how Adams would respond.

“I always knew that if I stood my ground for New Yorkers that I would be a target – and a target I became,” the mayor said Wednesday night after The New York Times first reported on the indictment.

Without directly addressing Adams’ comments, Damian Williams, the US attorney for the Southern District of New York, insisted on Thursday morning after he unsealed the indictment that the charges were damning and unassailable.

“These are bright red lines and we allege that the mayor crossed them, again and again, for years,” Williams said at a news conference. “That is the only reason we are here today.”

In his first round of post-indictment public remarks, Adams also addressed rivals who said it had become unsustainable, for the sake of the city’s day-to-day operation, for him to remain in office.

“My attorneys will take care of the case,” Adams said, “so I can take care of the city.”

But the work of running the city, which has lost its police chief and schools chancellor this month, has all but halted, one source in close contact with the agencies told CNN. Adams’ closest confidantes are scattered – his top formal adviser, Ingrid Lewis-Martin, is not believed to be in the country – and his inner circle has been decimated.

Adams’ former chief of staff Frank Carone, an influential Brooklyn attorney, met late Wednesday night with the mayor at Gracie Mansion. On his way out, Carone said Adams was not “distracted” and, when asked if Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, the next in line to the mayor’s office, was fit for the job, he stopped to make his point.

“We have one mayor – who was elected,” Carone said. “It’s Eric Adams.”

But political rivals and a handful of erstwhile allies have been bombarding Adams with calls to resign since – and shortly before – news of his indictment began to spread. The 57-page indictment includes charges relate to bribery, wire fraud, conspiracy and soliciting campaign contributions from foreign nationals. The alleged crimes trace back a decade, to Adams’ time as Brooklyn borough president.

Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul could, by law, remove him from office, though multiple sources – all of whom spoke anonymously because of the sensitive, evolving nature of the topic – told CNN late Wednesday she was not considering it.

Hochul, who initially said, “It would be premature to comment further until the matter is confirmed by law enforcement,” on Thursday called the charges a “very serious matter” and pledged to review them carefully as she weighed a decision.

President Joe Biden, asked at the White House on Thursday if Adams should resign, said, “I don’t know.”

Major decisions are also on the horizon for US House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, like Adams a Brooklyn Democrat, who is trying to position his party to win a majority in November. To do so will almost surely require Democratic candidates in a handful of battleground districts just outside the city to retake seats flipped by Republicans during the 2022 midterms.

An attorney by training and keenly aware of the optics of calling on the city’s second Black mayor to resign before he’s potentially convicted, Jeffries is unlikely to suggest Adams should step down right away. Political pressure, however, could become untenable in the coming weeks as the fallout continues.

On Wednesday in Washington, before the indictment was unsealed, Jeffries told reporters that he and the New York Democratic House delegation were focused on the wellbeing of the city and state.

“We need Eric Adams to be successful as mayor because he is the mayor at this moment in time,” Jeffries said.

He was similarly cautious on Thursday after the indictment was unsealed, saying in a statement that Adams is “entitled to the presumption of innocence” and that “a jury of the Mayor’s peers will now evaluate the charges in the indictment and ultimately render a determination.

“In the meantime,” he concluded, “I pray for the well-being of our great City.”

A Democratic strategist familiar with Jeffries’ leadership style, but not authorized to speak publicly, told CNN they expected the minority leader would take a pragmatic approach.

“Hakeem is not going to make a move unless he is hearing, loud and clear, from the New York delegation that Eric Adams is hurting their abilities to win (in November),” the source said.

The first sign of a potential backlash from suburban Democratic candidates came from Laura Gillen, who is running to unseat freshman GOP Rep. Anthony D’Esposito on Long Island’s South Shore.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re a Republican putting his mistress on the taxpayer-funded payroll or a Democrat selling influence, if you abuse your power you’ve got to go,” Gillen said, referring to reports of her rival’s own scandal, parts of which he has denied. “Let’s clean house in New York City and Washington D.C. and elect ethical leaders who are focused on their constituents, not themselves.”

On the US Senate side, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, also a Brooklyn native, struck a similar tone to Jeffries, describing the charges as “serious” but stopping short of calling for Adams to resign.

“No one is above the law, including the Mayor of New York City,” Schumer said in a statement. “The charges are serious, and the legal process should now play out speedily and fairly.”

Demands escalate for Adams to resign

Calls for the mayor’s resignation increased in the hours after the indictment became public.

Several of his 2025 Democratic primary challengers, including former City Comptroller Scott Stringer, current City Comptroller Brad Lander, and New York state Sen. Zellnor Myrie said the mayor would be unable to govern while defending himself from a federal indictment.

“This is a sad day for the city, and especially painful for so many Black New Yorkers who put our hope and faith in this Mayor,” Myrie said. “We need a leader who is fully focused, without distraction, on the enormous challenges we face.”

Stringer declared, “His legal fight is not our fight” and argued that “there is simply zero chance that the wheels of government will move forward from this full steam ahead.”

“The most appropriate path forward is for him to step down so that New York City can get the full focus its leadership demands,” Lander said.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez urged the same a day earlier. Often crosswise with Adams on policy and political style, the Queens congresswoman insisted her concerns were focused on administrative matters.

“This is squarely about Mayor Adams’ ability to govern New York City, and for the New York City governance to be fully staffed to serve the people of New York City,” Ocasio-Cortez told reporters Wednesday afternoon on Capitol Hill before news of the indictment broke.

Adams addressed those concerns at his news conference Thursday morning, saying his day-to-day responsibilities won’t change before railing against the suggestion the city is tied down by his legal troubles.

“It’s an insult to the hard-working people of the city that anyone would say that they won’t do their jobs while this case proceeds in the background,” Adams said. “They are dedicated public servants, and I have been one of them for many years, and they’re going to continue to do their job, moving the city forward every day.”

Perhaps more politically concerning for Adams, though, was a social media post the previous night from City Councilman Bob Holden, a conservative Democrat from Queens. Holden’s council district is home to some of Adams’ White working-class electoral base.

“Sad day for NYC when a sitting mayor is indicted on federal charges. While @NYCMayor is presumed innocent until proven guilty, there is no way he can effectively lead with this cloud hanging over him,” Holden wrote. “With the challenges we face, he must step down for the good of New Yorkers.”

Councilmember Chris Banks, whose Brooklyn district includes Brownsville and East New York, also said Adams should resign, calling the scandal “a true tragedy play(ing) out in real time.”

“I have no such confidence in the mayor’s ability to effectively run city government while addressing the charges,” Banks said in a statement.

State Sens. Julia Salazar, Gustavo Rivera and Jabari Brisport have also called for Adams to go, along with State Assembly members Phara Souffrant Forrest and Emily Gallagher of Brooklyn. None are considered allies of the mayor. Adams’ detractors on the city council are also starting to increase in number and scope. Councilmember Tiffany Caban of Queens was the first to call for his resignation. Other councilmembers, including Alexa Aviles, Sandy Nurse and Chi Osse, echoed her demand.

For now, Adams’ support on the council is limited to Republican members.

“Be careful what you wish for and pay very close attention (to) who is celebrating the loudest,” Councilwoman Vickie Paladino, who represents parts of Queens, said in a post on X. “The progressives who are salivating right now pose an existential threat to New Yorkers and cannot be allowed to take power.”

Hochul, who was narrowly elected to a full term in 2022 and is considered vulnerable to a primary challenge in 2026, is poised to face a pressure campaign from Democrats concerned that Adams could hurt the party outside of New York City.

The specter of her predecessor, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, also hangs over the rapidly evolving new political dynamics.

Even before the indictment became public, Cuomo had been ramping up his preparations for a potential mayoral bid. Two sources familiar with his deliberations told CNN that Cuomo, who resigned as governor in 2021 because of a sexual harassment scandal, has been speaking with would-be campaign managers.

Cuomo has been telling those around him, multiple sources said, that he would run if Adams left office and a special election were scheduled. If Adams resigns before the last week in March, the acting mayor is required to put one on the calendar. The winner would serve out Adams’ term.

Democratic operatives in New York are divided over what Cuomo is planning, though most concede it is, for now, just guesswork – and the source of extensive, sometimes far-fetched theorizing.

One Democratic strategist who has worked with Cuomo, but spoke anonymously for fear of retribution, expressed skepticism over the former governor’s private insistence he is poised to enter the mayoral fray. A return to the governor’s mansion, multiple sources said, remains the ultimate prize in Cuomo’s mind – and not a hope he would ditch for a less powerful job.

“Cuomo spent years punching down at the mayor and making sure that they were structurally disempowered,” one strategist said. “He’s not going to want to go to a less powerful position. He’s going to have his eyes on the governor’s office until he dies.”

Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi denied Cuomo has been interviewing potential campaign staff, telling CNN of the former governor, “He’s previously said he has no plans to make plans and that hasn’t changed.”

This story has been updated with additional reaction.

CNN’s Gloria Pazmino contributed to this report.