Donald Trump has downplayed election gains by the Democrats, while urging Republican members of Congress to take a radical step to end a record US government shutdown. It comes after Zohran Mamdani won the New York City mayoral race. Watch and follow live below.
Wednesday 5 November 2025 16:41, UK
Here are the latest pictures from New York, where mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani and his transition team have been speaking.
They spoke during a news conference at the Unisphere in Queens.
Taking more questions, Zohran Mamdani is now asked about the issue of antisemitism.
New York's first Muslim mayor tells the assembled journalists:
"I take the issue of antisemitism incredibly seriously. Last night in my speech I spoke about how my city hall will stand steadfast with Jewish New Yorkers."
He adds:
"I look forward to working with Jewish leaders across this city... to deliver on the promise of not just protecting Jewish New Yorkers but celebrating and protecting them in the same city."
Against the backdrop of Israel's war in Gaza, the issue of antisemitism has been in sharp political focus in the US.
Asked if his victory offers a lesson for Donald Trump, Mamdani says it should be that it is not enough to simply "diagnose the crisis" facing working class Americans.
He says Trump ran during last year's presidential election on a platform promising cheaper groceries.
But Mamdani said the US president should take the blame for the current government shutdown, which is depriving many Americans in need of credits to make food cheaper.
Trump has "literally made it harder", he adds.
"We're finally offering a vision that can meet the scale of crisis faced by working class New Yorkers," Mamdani says.
Zohran Mamdani is taking questions from the media.
"I look forward to being the mayor for every person that calls this city home," he says.
"That includes the Jewish New Yorkers that votes for our campaign and those that didn't, my responsibility is to all 8.5 million New Yorkers."
Mamdani says the embrace "of what makes New York City special" has been missing in the leaders of the city.
"I am excited to be the first immigrant to lead this city in generations," he says.
"I'm excited more frankly to deliver on an agenda of affordability alongside these incredible co-chairs for New Yorkers."
Asked about his message to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, after recent raids ordered by the Trump administration, Mamdani says "everyone will be held to the same standards of the law".
"There is sadly a sense growing across this country that certain people are allowed to violate that law, whether it be the president or the agents themselves," he adds.
Zohran Mamdani now moves on to outlining the transition team he's taking with him into office.
Here's who he names:
Mamdani adds:
"Over the coming days, we'll start announcing the leaders who will implement our agenda. People like deputy mayors who oversee entire areas of government, and the commissioners who carry out the critical work of city agencies. Some of these people will have familiar names, others will not. What will unite them will be a commitment to solving old problems with new solutions. We will cast a wide net. We will speak to the organisers on the front lines of the fight to improve our city government. Veterans with proven track records, policy experts from around the country and the world."
Mamdani's team all briefly spoke on stage as well.
"Good morning New York, last night we made history," Zohran Mamdani says as he starts his news conference.
"I'm so proud to be standing here today as the mayor-elect of the greatest city in the world."
Mamdani says he will "work every day to honour the trust that I now hold".
"The poetry of campaigning may have come to a close last night at 9pm, but the beautiful prose of governing has only just begun," he says.
"The hard work of improving New Yorkers' lives starts now."
Mamdani - who will be the first Muslim, first South Asian, and youngest person in a century to serve as the famous city's mayor - used a victory speech to throw down the gauntlet to Donald Trump last night.
Mamdani said: "If anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that gave rise to him.
"This is not only how we stop Trump. It's how we stop the next one. So Donald Trump, since I know you're watching, I have four words for you: 'Turn the volume up'."
Zohran Mamdani is speaking at a news conference after his win in the New York mayoral election.
In his victory speech, Mamdani told his supporters Donald Trump would be watching and said the US president should "turn the volume up".
You can watch along in the live stream at the top of the page and we'll bring you live text updates.
The stage is set for Zohran Mamdani, who will be speaking in New York shortly.
His podium contains the message "a new era" after his win in the city's mayoral election.
Watch his remarks live at the top of this page.
More now from the Republicans speaking to the media outside Congress, alongside House Speaker Mike Johnson.
Lisa McClain, the House Republican conference chair, hailed the achievements of Trump's first year back in the White House, saying: "Promises made, promises kept...there's a lot more to come folks."
Like her colleagues, she too sought to blame the government shutdown on the Democrats, saying her political rivals had done nothing but block and "obstruct".
And McClain joined the attacks on New York mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, accusing him of being a "communist".
Trump 'going to help' Republicans in 2026 elections
Johnson himself, while answering questions from journalists, dismissed defeats in Virginia, New Jersey and New York for Republican candidates last night.
He insisted the midterm elections next year would go better for the Republican Party.
Johnson said Democrats would try to impeach Trump if they made gains in Congress in 2026.
"The president needs four years to complete his agenda, not just two," Johnson said.
"He's going to help," Johnson added of Trump.
"President Trump is on the ballot in 2026 and we're looking forward to that contest," he said.
Trump himself said last night Republicans did badly because he wasn't on the ballot this time, and because of the ongoing government shutdown.
It's a busy day in US politics with the fallout from elections and the ongoing government shutdown, but it's also a year on from Donald Trump's election victory over Kamala Harris.
He's posted on Truth Social to celebrate the occasion...
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