As Mamdani visits D.C., Republicans are denouncing Castro, Stalin and other socialists of the past

WASHINGTON — Hours before New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani was to meet with President Donald Trump at the White House on Friday, the U.S. House voted to condemn the "horrors" of socialism and socialist leaders.

This not-so-warmish D.C. welcome for the self-identified democratic socialist often considered a communist came in the form of a vote on Florida GOP Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar’s resolution for the Republican-controlled Congress to denounce socialism "in all of its forms."

The resolution passed 285-98, with 86 Democrats joining all 199 Republicans who voted to back the measure. Two others voted “present.”

Both of Long Island’s House Democrats, Reps. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) and Laura Gillen (D-Rockville Centre) supported the measure. Also voting in favor of the bill was House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-Brooklyn), who endorsed Mamdani just days before the mayoral election.

The non-binding measure, with no tangible effect on policy, does not mention Mamdani by name. But Salazar is not shy about her reasoning and timing for the vote.

"As far-left politicians like New York’s Zohran Mamdani openly embrace socialist ideologies, Congresswoman Salazar's measure serves as a warning that socialism leads only to collective tyranny, shared poverty and human misery," a release from her office read.

Asked by Newsday Thursday about the vote coinciding with Mamdani's visit, Salazar said, “The timing is perfect.”

Long Island Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport) is one of several dozen co-sponsors of the measure with Salazar, who is the daughter of Cuban exiles and a prominent critic of the Cuban regime.

After the House passed an earlier version of the resolution in 2023, this vote comes as Mamdani and Seattle mayor-elect Katie Wilson are fresh off major democratic socialist mayoral victories — and some polling shows a rising acceptance of socialism and socialist policies among young Americans.

Cornering Democrats

Critics of the resolution say it is really a political "gotcha," intended to be more than just a history lesson.

The aim, they said, was to divide House Democrats by putting them on record ahead of next year’s congressional elections on either supporting or condemning socialists and social programs.

But there are no distinctions in the resolution, they said, between horrific totalitarian abuses and support on the left for free child care or even Medicare.

"There’s no definition here. I am really concerned," Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) said of the bill’s language. He said the wording paints everything tied to socialism with one too-broad a smearing brush.

The text of the resolution states, "Socialist ideology necessitates a concentration of power that has, time and time again, collapsed into communist regimes, totalitarian rule and brutal dictatorships."

The bill goes on: "Many of the greatest crimes in history were committed by socialist ideologues, including Vladimir Lenin, Josef Stalin, Mao Zedong, Fidel Castro, Pol Pot, Kim Jong Il, Kim Jong Un, Daniel Ortega, Hugo Chávez, and Nicolas Maduro."

McGovern and others said the problem comes with the resolution’s final declaration, stating that "Congress denounces socialism in all its forms, and opposes the implementation of socialist policies in the United States."

He and others said that leaves no distinctions between the horrors committed under Stalin or Pot or Mao’s Cultural Revolution, versus the political social democratic pursuits of politicians like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) or Mamdani.

There also are no distinctions made between past "atrocities" that have led to the deaths of millions and programs like Medicare, affordable or free child care and food assistance like SNAP.

"I hear the word socialist go around all the time — about lifting people out of poverty, making people’s lives better," McGovern said at a hearing prior to the vote. "I cannot vote for a resolution that can be interpreted as condemning Medicare as a social policy. But that is what we’re doing after eight weeks of paid vacation."

"Is this a resolution condemning Medicare?" McGovern asked.

'Strong message'

Rep. French Hill (R-Ark.) defended the bill, saying the resolution is not a critique of any congressional colleagues or their intentions. He also indicated it is not a condemnation of programs like Medicare. About that federal health program directed mostly for the elderly, he said, "Some people can consider it too much state control."

Garbarino also defended the bill.

"Here in New York, politicians like Zohran Mamdani are pushing socialist policies that would raise costs and hurt the hardworking families who keep our communities strong," he said. "Socialism has no place in America." 

The earlier version of this resolution passed the House in 2023, by a 328-86 margin, with 109 Democrats voting with Republicans to pass it. Fourteen other Democrats voted "present." It did not advance to a vote in the Senate.