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The No. 2 House Republican in Congress tore into Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday after cold weather left 18 New York City residents dead.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., made the comments in the context of warning that Democrats’ rejection of a bipartisan compromise on funding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will leave critical offices — like the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) — with a dire lack of money.
“What is not funded if the Democrats get their way? They will literally shut down funding for disaster relief and FEMA,” Scalise said. “In the middle of a storm that in New York City alone — you want to see what socialism gets you — people now have frozen to death under the leadership of the socialist Mamdani. That’s what Democrat leadership gets you.”
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Zohran Mamdani, mayor of New York, during a Bloomberg Television interview at City Hall in New York, on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Mamdani confirmed on Monday that an 18th person died in New York City during a period of dangerously low temperatures up and down the East Coast.
“Since Friday’s press conference, one additional New Yorker lost their life on the streets of our city as a result of this cold snap. The total lives lost is now 18. Each life lost is a tragedy, and we will continue to hold their families in our thoughts,” Mamdani said during a press conference about a separate issue.
He urged homeless residents to shield themselves from below-freezing temperatures at a shelter, while his administration has also deployed warming vehicles throughout the city.
Republicans, however, have accused Mamdani of not doing enough to expand access to emergency services during the bitter winter.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025. (Daniel Heuer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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It’s not clear what role FEMA currently has in aiding New Yorkers during the city’s cold snap, but its potential cutoff in funding if DHS shuts down at the end of this week is one of Republicans’ main pressure points in forcing Democrats to agree to a deal.
Scalise also pointed out that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) could also see its employees forced to work without pay if DHS funding lapsed.
“They want to shut down TSA. So just take Atlanta’s airport, LaGuardia [in New York City]. Those two airports alone having been shut down, if the Democrats get their way, will wreak havoc with tens of millions of Americans who just want to go see their family members, want to travel for a wedding, or whatever the case may be,” he said.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., speaks to the media next to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on the day U.S. President Donald Trump met with top congressional leaders just ahead of a Sept. 30 deadline to fund the government and avoid a shutdown, at the White House in Washington, D.C., Sept. 29, 2025. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)
“Maybe they’re trying to start a small business and want to go to another city to try to create some jobs. They won’t be able to do that because Democrats want to have a tantrum, not to defund ICE, because again, ICE is fully funded, but just because they want to cause chaos in America to get open borders.”
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Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE), whose funding Democrats have taken issue with specifically, got an injection of billions of dollars from President Donald Trump’s big, beautiful bill last year.
Digital reached out to the New York City mayor’s office for a response to Scalise’s comments.
