Mayor Mamdani faces backlash over pen handoff

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani faced significant backlash after a ceremonial pen was passed to the city's chief counsel, Ramzi Kassem, following the signing of two executive orders on September 5, 2026. The orders, one establishing an annual Citywide Day of Remembrance and Service on September 11 and another aimed at bolstering emergency preparedness, were signed at City Hall ahead of the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks. The controversy centers on Kassem's past legal work. He previously served as defense counsel for Ahmed al-Darbi, a Guantanamo Bay detainee convicted for his role in a 2002 al-Qaeda terror plot. Al-Darbi's brother-in-law was one of the hijackers aboard American Airlines Flight 77, which struck the Pentagon on 9/11. Critics, including some victims' families and political figures, have characterized the pen handoff as insensitive and a symbolic insult to the victims and their families. Mayor Mamdani's office stated that Kassem and his team drafted the executive orders as part of his duties as chief counsel, explaining his presence at the signing.