New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani announced on December 30, 2025, the appointment of Ramzi Kassem, a CUNY law professor and former Biden administration immigration advisor, as the city’s chief counsel, the top legal role at City Hall.
For context, Kassem, the founder of the CLEAR clinic, which focused on counterterrorism-related surveillance, previously defended Guantanamo detainee Ahmed al-Darbi, who was convicted in an al-Qaeda attack, and Columbia pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil. Reacting to this radical nomination, conservatives objected to Kassem’s past clients, while Mamdani praised his civil rights expertise.
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