Mayor Eric Adams stunned city and national political circles on Sunday when he announced he was ending his bid for reelection, saying in a short video posted to his social media channels that he believed stepping aside was in the city’s best interest. “I love this city, and we have done important work together,” Adams said, speaking without notes. “Now is the time to pass the baton to new leadership who can carry our progress forward.”

Adams, a former police captain who took office in 2022 with a pledge to restore public safety and revitalize the economy after the pandemic, had confronted persistent criticism over rising homelessness, subway delays and a series of public clashes that placed local policing and immigration enforcement under intense scrutiny. His withdrawal comes less than a week before Congress confronts an Oct. 1 deadline that could trigger a partial government shutdown, a prospect that city leaders say would complicate federal funding for disaster relief, transportation and public-health programs relied upon by millions of New Yorkers.

“Timing could not be more consequential,” said Elena Park, a political analyst at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. “A mayoral transition in a city of this scale is not an internal matter — it has fiscal and diplomatic ramifications, especially as a shutdown looms.”

City officials reacted with a mix of surprise and calls for steady governance. City Council Speaker Lina Morales praised Adams’s public-service record while urging a rapid pivot to continuity planning. “Residents deserve clarity and calm,” she said in a statement. “We will work to ensure that essential services are uninterrupted.”

Adams’s decision also arrives amid heightened friction between city and federal authorities over immigration enforcement. In recent days, federal agents including some from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have been at the center of confrontations that made national headlines, and an ICE officer was relieved of duty after a New York incident that drew criticism from community groups. That dynamic, along with the mayor’s previous emphasis on law-and-order policies, had already made his administration a focal point in the national debate over urban policing and federal intervention.

Beyond municipal administration, the mayoralty of New York carries international weight. The person who steps into the race now will be asked to reassure foreign investors, consular officials and multinational firms that the city remains stable and open. “Global markets and diplomats watch City Hall closely,” said Martin Reyes, a managing director at an international investment firm in Manhattan. “Uncertainty at the top of city government can ripple through finance, tourism and trade.”

National political operatives from both parties are likely to monitor the vacancy closely. With former President Donald Trump engaged in high-profile diplomatic and domestic moves — including reported talks with Israeli officials this week and reviving controversial law-enforcement deployments elsewhere in the country — Republican strategists will watch whether a change in leadership in New York alters local alignments on policing and immigration that have national resonance.

The next steps remain uncertain. With filing deadlines and primary calendars looming, prospective candidates must decide quickly whether to enter a race that will test not only their visions for housing and transit but their ability to steer the metropolis through federal turbulence. “We have weeks, perhaps days, to see how the field reshapes,” Park said. “What happens next will matter to New Yorkers and to anyone who depends on the city as a global hub.”