Mamdani announces COGE initiative to make NYC government more efficient | RISING

Added: 2026-05-30

[00:00:05]A doge by another name. New York City Mayor Zoran Mandami announcing this week the creation of Koj, the commission of government efficiency.

[00:00:14]>> Now M Donnie wrote on X, quote, "This commission will find ways for our city to work smarter, faster, and more effectively for working people." He continued, "Co will hold hearings in every burrow and meet with union members, community organizers, and working people who will help or who will shape how we rebuild more responsive and accountable government." But the comments were quickly filled with people pointing out Mandami's past of criticizing Elon Musk's Doge.

[00:00:41]Conservative influencer Matt Vanuel writing in part, "You spent a year treating government efficiency like a Republican disease. It's insane how every Republican idea is bad because it's a Republican doing it.

[00:00:54]>> Well, come on. I think Doge was bad because a lot of the stuff that wasn't codified was immediately reversed. Uh, a lot of the decisions that were made felt very knee-jerk, like wiping out whole agencies that will impact especially international communities that we supported for years. So, Elon Musk did make a lot of decisions that didn't even stand. I mean, the amount that he said he was going to cut, instead of being methodical and taking your time to do it, he did it quickly and then a lot of it didn't even stick. Uh, what Mani is suggesting is cutting some of the bureaucracy so that buildings can go up faster, construction can begin sooner, cutting out some of the bureaucracy so we can get stuff done, which will ultimately bring some profit to New York. So he's calling it a funny name like a little bit ingest to align with or mock however you look at it Doge. But what it's doing is effectively entirely different than what Doge actually did in the what we saw come out of Doge.

[00:01:46]>> Well, we don't know what CO does. All I'm hearing right now is it sounds like a bunch of meetings. Sounds like they're all going to sit there in their fields all across New York and talk about how things could be more efficient but not actually change anything. Like it or hate it, at least Elon went in and tried to make change to bureaucracy. Said we shouldn't be sending millions of dollars for teaching transsexual art in a country, right? Like there's always some nonsense that yeah, cut that program. A lot of waste in our government.

[00:02:15]>> There's a lot of a lot of waste waste, fraud, and abuse. It exists in every budget for every city, every state across the country, Republican or Democrat. So the idea that government efficiency, making the government more accountable, more accessible, making it more affordable for the American people by cutting the spending of the government. Yeah, let's do it. But I haven't seen Zoran Mandami cut anything at all other than try to reallocate police funds for other things.

[00:02:42]>> He cut he cut uh Eric Adams security detail or something. Cut Eric Adams. Oh, no. Eric Adams lawyer fees. I think he said a lawyer >> bill out of everything. out of everything that like heat cuts, it's not doing things that are helping the people of New York. Listen, I'm all for it. If they can if they can actually figure it out, good. Make government more efficient. But I have a real feeling in my gut that as this co program goes along for for uh good Zoran here. It's going to change nothing. He's going to offici make absolutely nothing more efficient. and instead he's just going to get headlines of this speaking tour across the city when he's going to not make it any safer for people. He's not going to make it more affordable. And now he has people in the housing department who believe that you should not be able to build wealth off of owning property. And this is a man who believes in the confiscation of private property for public use. So I I mean listen, if he wants to cut stuff, let's go for it. I just don't think it's going to be cutting anything that's actually going to be helpful or identifying any real efficiencies in a way that would do that because listen, he loves to spend money. I don't see him cutting anything that would I tell me, please tell me where he could cut something.

[00:03:56]>> The same critics saying, "Oh, Zoron, now you're having a conversation about code, which is similar to Doge, should be the same ones that it should be all ears to hear someone else trying it against Elon Musk." That's what I'm saying. So like the criticism could go both ways of like oh now you're on board to like oh now he's on board that should be a great idea that he wants to cut something >> faith that he's actually going to cut anything other than Eric Adams lawyer fee.

[00:04:19]>> This is uh you know he's argued and we talked about this I believe that he balanced the budget with tricks.

[00:04:24]>> Okay. But he said that he balanced the budget. He has uh created space for you said he doesn't make it more affordable.

[00:04:30]He's created a child care that makes it free for young kids starting in August >> one year. Yes. for only 20,000 students and there's no fun.

[00:04:38]>> He's starting somewhere.

[00:04:39]>> But wait, time out. As a mom who needed child care, if it was free and I didn't have the money, that would be ideal.

[00:04:45]>> Yes. But if you only have that for this year and next year you have to scramble and figure it out because the mayor only used trickery funding to get it done for one year. How much harder is it for you next year now that you have to scramble and find a whole new sense of daycare because the mayor only funded it for a year?

[00:05:00]>> Maybe with holding tenants accountable.

[00:05:02]I mean, holding landlords accountable and protecting tenants and asking people who have $5 million luxury homes all over New York to pay extra taxes. He can actually use that money for the childare that >> but he already he already put that money for other projects in his budget. He balanced that budget every way every politician does a little bit of trickery and a little >> and a little bit more money from the governor because New York City commits so much to the overall state >> out of it's not in balance with other parts of New York. We both know that >> because there's millions more.

[00:05:32]>> Exactly. So then they should get a little bit more from the state.

[00:05:34]>> They get plenty from the state. Let's not get confused. New York City is not hurting for cash right now. That budget has exploded exponentially since co not only for the state of New York but for the city itself. And to see him try and say, "Oh yes, well let's find more efficiency." I don't think he's actually looking at any MAKING ANY CUTS. I DON'T think he's looking TO MAKE >> THE DEMOCRATS are legitimately mad at him. Some Democrats for even have suggesting this. Because that's that that gets to my monologue for later in the show today about how no matter what, even in the face of common sense, some Democrats just can't.

[00:06:07]>> So you agree this is common sense. This is common sense. This is common sense.

[00:06:12]>> No, what I'm saying is the common sense part is even having the conversation. I don't think he actually has the common sense to do it though. He's got the common sense enough to do the earned media headline for himself. I don't see him cutting anything. I don't see him finding any efficiencies in the government because that's not what socialists believe. He believes government solves the problems. He believes big government is the solution.

[00:06:32]He believes you having less of your money because they can better control it than you can yourself. Wouldn't you rather be able to take money of your own and be able to choose the child care that you can afford that makes sense for your family versus him taking your money, taking everybody else's money and dictating what type of child care your child gets? Because that's what that that free prek is now. It's just moving chairs on the deck when he's only got a little bit of funding. Zorian Mandami has become a swamp creature much quicker than I think people anticipated in New York City. He's sitting here saying all the right things, but growing government, continuing to spend more, continuing to tax the rich, and using budget gimmicks to say he balanced the budget. Oo man, doesn't that swamp suit fit him nice and fast? Huh? He didn't balance squat. somebody who is literally trying to come up with solutions for a very uncomfortable econ economy for the average American, but more specifically the average New Yorker because the cost to live there is absurd specifically in New York City. He's coming up with solutions while our federal federal government makes it harder.

[00:07:35]>> He's coming up with more expensive.

[00:07:37]>> He's coming up with meetings to have their fields of the city.

[00:07:41]>> Solutions. the first uh grocery government run grocery store will pop up in the Bronx within the >> which threatens the opportunity for bode let me finish he's the solution you're saying meeting no solutions he fixed 100,000 potholes I can't with the help people get to get around what's wrong with that he's helping people get around does it hinder you when floor didn't have conditions you managed to turn on the street >> he's making sure that tenants have livable conditions and landlords are not taking advantage of them I have seen the videos of tenants getting disrespected by landlords with holes in their ceilings and animals, rodents running around and he's holding landlords to task. How long have we democrat mayors in New York City that I'm just you said what is he doing? He's having conversations and meetings. No, these are actually implementations. Like you said, this this program is being implemented in August where young kids in prek are going to get free child care. Only 20,000, but it's more than zero. And and so he's doing that in the face of the federal government raising prices through tariffs that failed, but also past prices while people went to Costco through a war that's sitting at a at a quagmire just waiting and just waiting to be done and prices just rising across the board. He's doing something else. So why again are we finding ways to bash him when he's doing something that's aligned with cutting, which is what Republicans >> throwing government and you know it.

[00:08:58]There's no cut there. I have yet to see if if we get like we will do a whole segment on Donny's cut >> if he actually makes any. I don't think he will though. Coming up, could President Trump become the first living person in 150 years to appear on US currency? Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant seems to think it's possible.

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