New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani made an unannounced visit to Washington, DC, to meet US President Donald Trump on Thursday, according to a report by The New York Post.
The tabloid said Mamdani did not list the meeting on his public schedule. After the report was published, a spokesperson for the mayor confirmed that the meeting would take place. The White House did not immediately comment.
Sources familiar with the matter told the Post that the mayor and several top advisers flew to Washington on Thursday morning. The meeting was scheduled for 1 pm. The agenda was not fully clear, but two sources said discussions would focus partly on housing development in New York City, an area closely linked to Trump's real estate background.
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The New York Post was the first to report that Mamdani was travelling to Washington, though it did not specify the purpose of the trip. According to the Post, the Oval Office meeting - the second since Mamdani's election victory in November - could touch on "a variety of housing projects" that may amount to a "historic investment" in new housing in the city.
City Hall did not mention the mayor's travel plans publicly. The Post reported that Mamdani was seen boarding a Delta flight on Thursday morning along with adviser Morris Katz, who does not hold a formal position in City Hall. The mayor's office declined to comment on the tabloid.
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Despite sharp political differences, Trump and Mamdani have maintained an unexpectedly cordial relationship. Mayor Mamdani, a democratic socialist, and Trump, a Republican, first met in November after the mayoral election. Observers had described their initial White House meeting as surprisingly warm.
During his State of the Union address on Tuesday, Trump referred to Mamdani as "a nice guy," adding: "Bad policy, but nice guy." He also said, "I speak to him a lot."
Mamdani has largely avoided directly criticising the president, as New York City depends significantly on federal funding controlled by the White House. However, in January, he criticised the US military's capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, calling it "an act of war and a violation of federal and international law."
He also called Trump to express his objections, a move that reportedly annoyed the president.
The White House meeting comes amid continued public sparring but regular communication between the two leaders, signalling an unusual working relationship across party lines.
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