Mamdani gets federal security clearance after months-long wait
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani has received federal security clearance after a months-long wait, allowing him to participate in classified briefings on security threats and emergencies affecting the city.
“I have my security clearance now,” Mamdani told reporters at an unrelated press conference in Brooklyn on Wednesday.
Sam Raskin, a spokesperson for Mamdani, did not specify when the Trump administration granted the clearance, saying only that it was issued sometime this week, according to a Politico report.
The clearance was granted days after Mamdani held a friendly meeting with President Donald Trump, although there is no indication that the meeting played a role in the approval.
The Department of Homeland Security, which processed Mamdani’s clearance, declined to comment on the reason for the delay and referred questions to the FBI, which conducts background checks for security clearances.
The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
News outlet Gothamist reported earlier this month that Mamdani’s wait was unusually long for a New York City mayor.
He had begun the application process shortly after taking office in January, according to the local news outlet.
The delay, however, came amid a broader slowdown in the federal security clearance process.
Government Accountability Office data showed that federal agencies took an average of 206 days — nearly seven months — to authorise 90% of security clearances during the second half of fiscal 2025.
That was 92 days longer than the government’s target of 114 days.
With the clearance, Mamdani can now attend classified federal briefings, including FBI briefings on security threats.
He had previously been unable to participate in such meetings, although senior members of his administration, including Chief Counsel Ramzi Kassem, had access because they already held the required clearances.
Mamdani’s lengthy wait also came amid criticism of the Trump administration’s use of the security clearance process.
Last year, the administration revoked clearances held by dozens of current and former government officials involved in investigations that Trump had described as “witch hunts”, including the FBI investigation into his 2016 presidential campaign’s ties to Russia.
Mamdani and Trump, who have since developed a notably cordial relationship, were sharply critical of each other as recently as last year, when Mamdani repeatedly described the president as a “despot” and a “fascist.”