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With four key deputy mayors saying they planned to step down, Mayor Eric Adams is facing growing questions about his ability to lead New York City.
Feb. 18, 2025Updated 1:50 p.m. ET
Four months ago, the administration of Mayor Eric Adams seemed to be in an irreversible state of crisis. Two of his deputy mayors and his police commissioner had resigned. His five-count federal indictment was still very much in play.
Mr. Adams soldiered on. He hired well-regarded replacements, eschewing his often-tapped pool of loyalists. He hired a fiery criminal defense lawyer and began to openly court President Trump as an ally.
The moves seemed to pay off. Mr. Adams’s new team, led by the first deputy mayor, Maria Torres-Springer, won admiration for keeping New York City running; the mayor seemed to score an even bigger victory when the Justice Department moved to drop the case against him.
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But Mr. Adams’s seeming legal triumph has brought him into a deeper political crisis.
The prosecutor overseeing the mayor’s case accused Mr. Adams late last week of agreeing to a quid pro quo with Trump administration officials. In exchange for leniency in the criminal case, she said, the mayor would help the president with immigration enforcement.
The suggestion that Mr. Adams would do Mr. Trump’s bidding, which the mayor has denied, brought widespread condemnation and calls for him to step down or for Gov. Kathy Hochul to remove him.
