❓WHAT HAPPENED: New York City Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani’s (D) newly-hired Director of Appointments, Catherine Almonte Da Costa, resigned after past anti-Semitic social media posts were uncovered.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Catherine Almonte Da Costa, Zohran Mamdani, and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).
📍WHEN & WHERE: The resignation occurred on Thursday, December 18, 2025, in New York City.
💬KEY QUOTE: “Her social media footprint includes posts from more than a decade ago that echo classic antisemitic tropes and otherwise demean Jewish people.” – Anti-Defamation League
🎯IMPACT: Da Costa stepped down just one day after her appointment, with Mamdani accepting her resignation.
Catherine Almonte Da Costa, newly named as Director of Appointments in New York City Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani‘s (D) socialist administration, resigned on Thursday following the resurfacing of anti-Semitic social media posts she made over a decade ago. Since winning the mayoral race in November, Mamdani has announced a number of concerning appointments, including Da Costa, convicted armed robber Mysonne Linen, and the political left’s favorite terrorism lawyer, Ramzi Kassem.
The resignation came after pressure from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which publicized social media posts by Da Costa that the organization says “echo classic antisemitic tropes and otherwise demean Jewish people.” In a January 2011 post highlighted by the ADL, Da Costa complained, “Money hungry Jews smh [shaking my head].” In another, she referred to a train route as “the Jew train.”
Previously, Da Costa served in various roles—including in the Office of Appointments—in former Mayor Bill de Blasio‘s government.
“As the mother of two Jewish children, I deeply regret and apologize for these tweets from well over a decade ago,” De Costa said in response to her resurfaced social media history. “These comments do not in any way, shape, or form reflect who I am or my views and beliefs today.” Meanwhile, her husband, Ricky Da Costa, also responded to the controversy, calling his wife’s past remarks “dumb,” but insisted her remorse “is deeply genuine.”
Zohran Mamdani, who had announced Da Costa’s appointment just one day prior, accepted her resignation while also stressing her “deep remorse” over the past anti-Semitic comments.
During the 2025 mayoral campaign, Mamdani was scrutinized over his ties to radical Islamists. In October, he shared a photo on social media in which he appeared alongside radical Islamist Imam Siraj Wahhaj, an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. In the post, Mamdani praised Wahhaj as one of America’s foremost Muslim religious scholars and a local Brooklyn community leader.
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