The House of Representatives passed a resolution Friday condemning socialism in all forms, just hours before New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani — a self-described democratic socialist — was scheduled to meet with President Donald Trump at the White House, as reported by The New York Post.

The vote highlighted significant divisions among Democrats as Mamdani, 34, arrived in Washington for the 3 p.m. sit-down.

The concurrent resolution was introduced by Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.) and passed with bipartisan support in a 285–98 vote.

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All “no” votes came from Democrats, with two members — Janelle Bynum of Oregon and Deborah Ross of North Carolina — voting “present.”

The resolution states, “Congress denounces socialism in all its forms, and opposes the implementation of socialist policies in the United States.”

During the debate, Salazar referenced her parents’ escape from Cuba after Fidel Castro’s rise to power and criticized Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), who opposed the measure.

“Madame Waters, for decades you traveled to Cuba dozens of times to visit Fidel Castro personally, whom you considered your friend,” Salazar said on the House floor.

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Waters objected and moved to take her colleague’s words down, prompting Salazar to withdraw her remarks. Salazar went on to cite human rights abuses associated with Cuba’s communist regime, including political imprisonment and violence against Afro-Cubans.

Rep. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), son of former Sen. Bob Menendez, also voted against the resolution despite his own family history of fleeing Cuba before Castro took power.

Members of Congress who endorsed Mamdani, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), voted “no” along with other members of the far-left “Squad.”

House Speaker emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) also opposed the resolution, as did New York Democrats Yvette Clarke, Adriano Espaillat, and Dan Goldman.

The vote took place shortly after Mamdani landed at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. The mayor-elect has said he intends to “speak plainly” with President Trump about policies to make New York City more affordable.

Trump, who previously said he might cut federal funding if “my little Communist” won the election, told Fox News Radio’s “Brian Kilmeade Show” on Friday that he expected the meeting to be “quite civil.” He added, “I think we’ll get along fine.”

At a Thursday news conference in City Hall Park, Mamdani said, “I have many disagreements with the president, and I believe that we should be relentless and pursue all avenues and all meetings that could make our city affordable for every single New Yorker.”

The vote also exposed ideological rifts among Democrats that emerged during Mamdani’s mayoral campaign. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) endorsed Mamdani but voted in favor of the GOP resolution condemning socialism.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) did not endorse Mamdani and did not indicate how he voted in the mayoral race.

“Let me educate our colleagues on the other side of the aisle: socialism is communism-light,” Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) said during debate.

She noted that her mother fled Cuba in 1959 and said Mamdani’s stated goals — including abolishing private property rights and establishing government-run supermarkets — mirrored “policies straight out of the Communist playbook of Karl Marx.”

Lawmakers also criticized the failures of modern socialist governments, including Venezuela.

The resolution documents historical examples of socialist regimes collapsing into communist dictatorships under leaders such as Lenin, Stalin, Mao Zedong and Castro, resulting in widespread famine, political oppression, and mass deaths.

It cites estimates of mass starvation in North Korea and the Soviet Union, and between 15 million and 55 million deaths during China’s Great Leap Forward.

A companion resolution was introduced in the Senate by Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.). Both measures were filed in early September — weeks before Mamdani won the New York City Democratic primary and secured his position as mayor-elect.

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