SEC Chair Paul Atkins rips communist Zohran Mamdani, pols pushing for control rather than freedom

Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins ripped Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s progressive agenda on Tuesday, warning that New York’s leaders are “beginning to speak the language of control rather than of freedom.”President Trump’s Wall Street cop did not name the democratic socialist mayor in his keynote address, but left little doubt about his target as he framed the city’s direction as a betrayal of the principles that built American capitalism as the country prepares to celebrate its 250th birthday this weekend.“Just step outside, where leaders entrusted to govern this great city that built American commerce are beginning to speak the language of control rather than of freedom — to deliver on campaign promises that would undermine the very foundation that has made this nation great,” Atkins told a meeting of the Economic Club of New York.He cited the president’s own words on communism, quoting Trump as warning that such systems may seem appealing at first “but, in the end … great violence proceeds at levels never seen before, and the entity dissolves into poverty, squalor, and crime.”SEC chief Atkins waded into the New York political debate at a time when some financial firms are considering relocating jobs out of Manhattan in a bid to escape the hard-left mayor’s tax-and-spend agenda.Mamdani, who took office in January and once advocated defunding the police, has pushed a far-left agenda since his inauguration — including city-run grocery stores, a rent freeze for about 1 million apartments and higher taxes on the city’s wealthiest residents and corporations.The polices have drawn criticism from New York power players such as JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon and Partnership for New York City CEO Steven Fulop.Atkins’ Tuesday broadside marked a rare foray into city politics for an SEC chairman — whose jurisdiction runs to Wall Street disclosure and market integrity, not a mayor’s housing or tax plans — although he was ...