@ZDL
Which is why people like Mamdani are so important.
Most transportation happens in cities and suburbs.
️
People recognize the House and the Senate of Congress as important legislative bodies, and the Supreme Court as an important judicial body. But the capture of the federal government and the press has elevated two previously unofficial US government bodies to prominence:
1) The group of governors of the 5 largest states
2) The group of mayors of the 50 largest cities
They're not officially a recognized governing body, but they are (so far at least) the most effective legislative counterbalance to an unchecked executive branch.
Eg, if the mayors of NYC and LA want free buses and want them zero emission, there's not much POTUS can do about it. Those two metro areas alone already cover ~10% of the US population.