Who is Pakistani-origin professor Leena Khan, who is part of Zahran Mamdani's team?

 Who is Pakistani-origin professor Leena Khan, who is part of Zahran Mamdani's team?

New York City Mayor-elect Zahran Mamdani has formed his own transition team, co-chaired by four women, including Pakistani-American professor Lina Khan.

The transition team will be tasked with forming a new New York administration for Zahran Mamdani.

In addition to Lina Khan, Zahran Mamdani’s transition team includes former Deputy Mayor Maria Torres Springer, United Way of New York head Grace Bonilla, former Deputy Mayor of Health and Human Services Melanie Hertzog, and political consultant Elana Leopold.

On becoming co-chair of Zahran Mamdani’s transition team, Lena Khan says, “It is an honor to be part of the transition team and I am excited to work with the other co-chairs to create an administration that can start working from day one and work for all New Yorkers.” Lena Khan, a 36-year-old Pakistani-born law professor, also served as head of the Federal Trade Commission under former President Joe Biden.

Who is Lena Khan?

Lena Khan was born in the UK to a Pakistani family. Her family immigrated to the US when she was 11.

She completed her education in the US and recently married Shah Ali, a cardiologist from Texas. She is a graduate of Williams College and Yale Law School.

Lena Khan has also served as an associate professor in the law department at Columbia University in New York, where she teaches and writes on antitrust law, industrial structure law, and antitrust practices.

Her research on antitrust law has been highly acclaimed and has won several awards. Her research papers have been published in the Yale Law Journal, Harvard Law Review, Columbia Law Review, and the University of Chicago Law Review.

Previously, Lena Khan served as counsel to the Subcommittee on Antitrust Law, Commercial, and Administrative Law of the House Judiciary Committee of the United States Congress, where she led the subcommittee’s investigation into digital markets.

Professor Lena Khan was also a legal advisor in the office of Commissioner Rohit Chopra at the Federal Trade Commission and a legal director at the Open Markets Institute.

In the past, Lena Khan has been included in the list of 100 influential leaders by the American magazine Time.

Time’s list of 100 leaders mentioned the services of these emerging leaders who are playing an important role in shaping the future.

Reaction on social media

Social media users are also seen commenting and analyzing Lena Khan’s inclusion in Zahran Mamdani’s transition team.

A user named Bina Raza reminded people on X that as the head of the Federal Trade Commission, Lena Khan took a “strong stance against corporate monopolies” and was a strong voice for protecting “consumer rights.”

On social media platform X, when a user called him a “socialist of Pakistani origin,” many users objected. “He is an American. There is no harm in disagreeing with his policies or ideas, but it is wrong to discuss his nationality or publish personal family information,” wrote a user named Li Feng.