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Several months into his administration, New York City socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani is taking a page from Elon Musk’s book by launching a city Commission on Government Efficiency, or «COGE.»

Mamdani’s commission, however, will be staffed by a group of progressives and Democrats, including a George Soros-aligned chair, according to a statement from New York City.

The mayor said on Thursday that the commission «will find ways for our city to work smarter, faster, and more effectively for working people.» He emphasized that «New Yorkers deserve a city government as careful with their money as they are.»

A statement by the city said COGE will be chaired by Patrick Gaspard, a longtime Democratic operative who formerly worked as executive director of the Democratic National Committee and president of the Soros family’s Open Society Foundation.

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The statement said Mamdani has charged the commission with reviewing the «entire New York City Charter» to determine ways to «better support public excellence by improving efficiency, modernizing city government and ensuring government keeps pace with New Yorkers’ needs.»

According to the statement, COGE is expected to remove «outdated bureaucratic barriers that slow infrastructure projects and delay services»; equip city agencies with the authority, enforcement tools and flexibility they need to deliver programs effectively; and modernize government to improve efficiency and savings, reserve and budget practices.

The commission will also hold 10 public hearings across New York’s five boroughs, after which proposals will be brought to voters through the upcoming November ballot.

Mamdani emphasized in the statement that «for too long, bureaucracy has stood in the way of delivering the housing, transit, child care and public services our city needs.» He added that «restoring faith in government starts with proving government can actually deliver.»

This comes after Mamdani met with current Open Society Foundation board chair Alex Soros, George Soros’ son, at his Manhattan residence.

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Alex Soros, son of billionaire megadonor George Soros, congratulates Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani on his New York City election victory. (Fox News)

The city wrote on X that it is «excited» to work with Gaspard on the commission.

Gaspard, who chaired the Open Society Foundation between 2017 and 2020 and previously served as a senior advisor to former president Barack Obama, said that «New Yorkers deserve and need a government of the possible — one that can urgently build infrastructure, promote small business growth, and make the city more livable with accessible childcare and affordable groceries.»

Gaspard added, «I am grateful to Mayor Mamdani for the opportunity to chair this commission, and I look forward to listening to New Yorkers to develop the charter for the 21st century government we need.»

In an Open Society Foundation statement announcing his departure in 2020, Gaspard called it a «profound honor» to lead the Soros-linked organization. He wrote that «fundamental social change doesn’t customarily occur in a revolutionary moment. Instead, what is needed is the partnership of activists, government, and the nonprofit sector, collaborating over time and space in unity and solidarity.»

«This is what I worked to do at Open Society,» he said, adding, «My commitment now will be to re-enter the world of politics and ideas, where I can continue the struggle against oppression everywhere.»

According to the city, the commission will also include Susan Kang, a member of the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America and author of the book «Human Rights and Labor Solidarity: Trade Unions in the Global Economy.»

Theodore Moore, executive director of ALIGN, a progressive advocacy organization, where the city said he has focused on «setting the organization’s strategic vision for worker power and climate justice.»

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Then New York City Council member Joe Borelli, a Republican from Staten Island, speaks outside City Hall during a press conference and rally supporting the Christopher Columbus statue in Manhattan on Aug. 24, 2017. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Besides them, there were several other activists and community leaders, most of whom are associated with the Democratic Party in various forms. Notably absent from the commission, however, were any New York Republicans.

Joe Borelli, a former Republican New York City councilmember who has long advocated for city government reform, responded to COGE’s launch by commenting on X, «How haven’t I been appointed to this already, @ZohranKMamdani?»

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Borelli told Fox News Digital that «as the new mayor and his team are taking socialist governance out for its American test drive, they are realizing that there needs to be a constant source of revenue to pay for all.»

«Ironically,» he continued, «they are coming to see that it’s big government that stands in the way of most economic growth.»

Fox News Digital reached out to the mayor’s office, the Open Society Foundation, Gaspard, Moore and Kang for comment.

The Trump administration is advancing a proposal for federal agencies to use standardized nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) with employees as part of a broader push to stop internal discussions from leaking to the press. 

«This is going through the full regulatory process, so people can give notices and comments,» said Office of Personnel Management (OPM) director Scott Kupor to Fox News Digital in a Zoom interview on Wednesday. «We’ll respond to all those things as well … I’d be surprised, if at the end of the day, we aren’t successful in showing people that this is important for preserving deliberative decision-making in the government.»

The proposal would create a template NDA for federal agencies to use with employees, requiring workers to acknowledge existing confidentiality rules as the Trump administration intensifies its crackdown on internal leaks following incidents including the Venezuela raid leak and the doxing of ICE agents. Officials said the policy is meant to protect sensitive internal discussions, while critics question whether it could chill whistleblower protections and employee speech.

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Kupor pointed to a «simple example» of why he said the NDAs are needed. OPM functions as the federal government’s human resources agency, overseeing personnel policy and workforce rules for federal employees.

«I had a meeting today … we had 10 people in the room … it’s really hard to run the organization if we have that conversation and then nine out of those 10 people go call the media and say, ‘hey, let me just tell you what we talked about in this conversation.’» 

«It just puts us in a situation where you can’t run an organization. You can’t have a reasonable conversation with your team. It isolates decision-making to a place that I think is just not good for anybody,» he added.

Federal employees are already required to safeguard certain confidential and sensitive government information obtained through their work. OPM said the proposed NDA would not create new substantive restrictions on employee speech, but instead establish a standardized process for federal workers to acknowledge existing legal and regulatory obligations regarding confidential information.

Kupor said the proposal of NDAs is to encourage open and honest dialogue in meetings. 

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«We’re just trying to avoid situations where people feel like they won’t express an opinion in a meeting because they are worried that’s going to show up on the front page of the newspaper tomorrow. I just don’t think that helps us actually run the organizations on behalf of the American people,» said Kupor.

Critics have argued the agency is expanding oversight in an effort to control damaging narratives emerging from inside the administration.

Gilbert Employment Law, which specializes in federal employment issues, partner Kevin Owen told the Government Executive that «OPM is now trying to become this super personnel office that centralizes its authority over all federal employees, ostensibly at the direction of the White House. By now controlling how federal employees are even able to communicate about matters of political concern, it’s one further step toward enacting a spoils system and making the civil service a political arm of the White House.»

The proposal also stated that the agreement would explicitly preserve employees’ rights to make disclosures authorized under federal law, including protected whistleblower complaints.

Kupor said the proposal of NDAs is to encourage open and honest dialogue in meetings. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

«I think people are thinking [it’s] another way to get rid of people, or we’re trying to squelch people from saying what they want,» said Kupor. «That’s the farthest thing from the truth. People can say whatever they want. The issue is, if we’re having a conversation at work … I think it’s very reasonable for us to say you shouldn’t go basically publish what is otherwise essentially a deliberative process of conversation out there.»

Kupor said the administration should be able to achieve discussions without media leaks and, once it’s decided, journalists can FOIA the information.

«People can appeal that to the [U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board] and forward and stuff like that. That’s how we work today. We’re not taking away any rights anybody has for any other kind of workplace related adverse actions,» said Kupor.  «If you read the NDAs, it’s very expressed that nothing here interferes with traditional whistleblower issues with people going to the inspector general.»

Kupor said he is unsure whether the proposal was discussed during the first Trump administration or under previous administrations but argued the rapid expansion of the media landscape has made agencies more vulnerable to leaks.

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The NDA proposal entered in the Federal Register cites recent events such as the Venezuela raid and the doxing of ICE agents as justification for the measure. (John Moore/Getty Images)

«Particularly with the rise of social media and everything else, [federal employees] feel like they want to help people outside the world, understand what we’re doing. And none of this is intended to like to stop that. It’s just intended to allow us to have an open, honest conversation among folks. And if people want to be citizen journalists, they can do that,» said Kupor.

With the Trump administration already facing a series of legal challenges to its policy agenda, Kupor said he expects the NDA proposal could draw scrutiny as well.

«Unfortunately, there are lots of lawyers and organizations who make a living out of basically finding whatever they don’t like with the Trump administration and suing. But in this case I feel very, very comfortable,» he said.

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The proposal is open for public comment on or before June 26, according to OPM.