New York City Mayor Eric Adams is facing increasing calls to step down after the Trump Department of Justice halted his corruption case

Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY), Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado, and a top Democrat on the State’s Senate are among those who have either called for Adams’ removal outright or remain troubled by the allegations.

Hochul has the power to remove him outright if he refuses to resign. In a Thursday appearance on MSNBC, she refused to say whether she will do so. She said she saw former SDNY prosecutor Danielle Sassoon’s letter, which suggested prosecutors could put forth a superseding indictment alleging Adams destroyed evidence and instructed others to do so, strengthening their case against him.

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“The allegations are extremely concerning and serious,” Hochul said. “But I cannot as the governor of this state, have a knee-jerk, politically-motivated reaction, like a lot of other people are saying right now. I have to do what’s smart, what’s right, and I’m consulting with other leaders in government at this time. This just happened. I need some time to process this and figure out the right approach.”

She also said Attorney General Pam Bondi‘s DOJ is corrupt, likely referring to their move to order Sassoon to dismiss his case. Sassoon refused and resigned.

“One is that this is unbelievably unprecedented for the Department of Justice in Washington to interfere in this way,” she said. “You look at what happened here — this is not supposed to happen in our system of justice. The Bondi administration in that Department of Justice is already showing they’re corrupt.”

Delgado gave Adams less benefit of the doubt. “New York City deserves a Mayor accountable to the people, not beholden to the President,” he posted on X Thursday night. “Mayor Adams should step down.”

If Adams isn’t feeling the pressure from within the governor’s mansion, New York State Democrats have added further calls to step down onto his plate.

“The last thing the people of New York want is for our city to turn into an annex of the Trump administration, yet that’s exactly what is happening,” State Senate Deputy Majority Leader Mike Gianaris posted on X. “Eric Adams is clearly compromised and can no longer be considered the legitimate leader of our city. He must step down or be removed.”

New York State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins hasn’t let her feelings be known about Adams lately, but the pair had a meeting in December. Adams called her a “great partner for our city.”

Calls for Adams to step down aren’t new. But skepticism from Hochul, Delgado, and the state legislature likely doesn’t bode well for Adams’ future even if he is completely cleared by the Trump DOJ.

He was accused for months of cozying up to President Donald Trump in order to receive a pardon or a break in his case, like he’s receiving now.

The criminal charges, and the public opinion that he’s aligned with Trump, have damaged his mayoral reelection campaign. Voters in the Democratic Primary have been polled with little support for Adams despite him being the incumbent mayor.

For now, polling in the Democratic Primary has favored former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who hasn’t declared his mayoral candidacy. Cuomo recently received the endorsement of the Staten Island Democrats, who have blasted Adams for reportedly phoning a GOP leader to discuss running as a Republican.

“We made this decision in light of recent news that our current mayor sought the nomination of multiple Republican chairs, cut a deal that prioritized himself over 8 million New Yorkers, and essentially handed the keys to New York City to the President,” they said in a statement. “This is an affront, and enough is enough. We believe Andrew Cuomo is the only proven leader with the track record of results and resolve to both navigate attacks from Washington and properly address the issues of corruption and deteriorating quality of life that our city faces today.”

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Adams was indicted in September 2024 for corruption charges, though he has denied them and said they are politically motivated. He was set to face trial in April.

The New York City Democratic Primary for mayor will take place on June 24. Adams, for now, is facing declared candidates, such as city comptroller Brad Lander, former city comptroller Scott Stringer, and a host of others.