The New York governor said she would propose legislation and measures aimed at exerting more oversight over the mayor’s office. Adams responded there would have been no legal basis to remove him.

The US justice department is currently pushing to drop a corruption case against Adams, which a former top prosecutor alleged was a deal in exchange for the mayor’s co-operation on immigration enforcement.

Adams was indicted on corruption and bribery charges last year, and his trial is scheduled for April. The mayor pleaded not guilty and has denied wrongdoing.

Announcing her proposed “guardrails” against Adams on Thursday, the governor said she decided not to use her power to remove the mayor as she could not defy the “will of the voters”.

In her new plan, she has proposed a new inspector general position for New York City, providing more resources for officials to take legal action against the Trump administration, and expanding funding for the state comptroller’s office to conduct more oversight of the city.

Hochul said these steps would “make sure our leaders are operating only with the city’s best interest in mind”.

The plan would still require approval from the New York City Council and state legislature.

The mayor said in a statement later: “While there is no legal basis for limiting New Yorkers’ power by limiting the authority of my office, I have told the governor, as we have done in the past, that I am willing to work with her to ensure faith in our government is strong.”

Hochul’s attempt to rein in the mayor comes as he awaits the decision of a New York judge regarding his corruption case.

Adams was indicted last year for allegedly accepting gifts totalling more than $100,000 (£75,000) from Turkish citizens in exchange for favours.

The Trump administration ordered its Manhattan prosecutors to drop the case against Adams, arguing it impedes on his official duties for national security.

Shortly after the directive, the top Manhattan federal prosecutor in the case, Danielle Sassoon, resigned in protest. Several other federal prosecutors followed.

In a letter to the US attorney general, Sassoon alleged that the justice department and Adams’ lawyers had engaged in a quid-pro-quo for the mayor to enforce Trump’s immigration policies in exchange for dropping the case.

Amid the uproar, Hochul announced that she was weighing whether to use her powers to remove Adams.

Adams denied he had propositioned the justice department to drop the case in exchange for immigration enforcement.

His attorney, Alex Spiro, argued in court that because Adams lost his security clearance due to his criminal charges, the case should be dismissed so that he can again participate in high-level public safety conversations.

The case has sent the city’s government into upheaval and infuriated New Yorkers, dozens of whom appeared for Adams’ hearing this week to boo him as he arrived at court. A handful of supporters held signs on the courthouse steps.

As the Trump administration seeks to dismiss the charges against Adams, the president has sought to flex his influence over New York City, announcing he intends to revoke approval for the city’s congestion pricing programme that started in January.

In her remarks, Hochul took aim directly at the Trump administration, referring to him at one point as a “king”.

“We know they’ll stop at nothing to try to exercise control over New York,” she said of the Trump administration.

Judge Dale Ho did not immediately rule on the motion to dismiss the charges, saying: “I’m not going to shoot from the hip right here on the bench.”

Last week, Emil Bove, a top official at the department and one of President Donald Trump’s former personal attorneys, instructed federal prosecutors in Manhattan to drop the corruption case.

Manhattan’s lead prosecutor and six other high-level Justice officials resigned in protest, saying there was no legal justification for the directive.

Bove’s office later filed a motion to dismiss, prompting the judge to call a hearing.

Adams has been charged with conspiracy, fraud, soliciting illegal campaign contributions, and bribery. He denies any wrongdoing.

Often, judges sign off on dismissing charges from the bench at the end of a hearing, and the approval is typically viewed as routine.

But this case has taken an unusual turn, with the former lead prosecutor, Danielle Sassoon, alleging the federal government is in a quid pro quo with the mayor of the largest city in the US.

In his directive, Bove had said the mayor’s legal situation “restricted” his ability to address “illegal immigration and violent crime” in New York City.

Sassoon, the interim head of the Southern District of New York at the time, protested the decision in a letter to the US attorney general that soon became public. She alleged Adams had pledged to help enforce Trump’s immigration policies in exchange for the case being dismissed.

Adams has denied Sassoon’s claim and called it “silly.” Trump, meanwhile, has denied meddling in the mayor’s case and Bove has denied a quid pro quo.

The impact of the seven resignations has swept throughout New York City politics, energising a field of potential challengers to replace Adams. New York Governor Kathy Hochul is publicly weighing removing him from office before the upcoming city elections, as well.

On his way in to court on Wednesday, Adams was met with dozens of protestors waving signs and chanting that he has “got to go.” So many members of the public lined up to witness the hearing that the courthouse opened multiple overflow rooms.

Judge Ho questioned both Bove and Adams attorney Alex Spiro in detail for more than an hour, after asking Adams a series of standard questions to ensure he understood the terms of the motion to dismiss – including that he could be prosecuted in the future.

The judge pointedly asked if there had been “anything promised to you to induce you to consent to the motion?”

“Not at all,” Adams answered.

Bove shot back at Sassoon’s allegations and argued thecase prevented Adams from doing his job. The mayor lost his security clearance during the prosecution, he said, and he could not receive necessary information about homeland security, immigration, and terrorism.

But Judge Ho asked if Trump, as president, could simply restore Adams’ security clearance. Bove conceded that he could.

When Bove argued that the case, which was set to go to trial next month, could amount to election interference, because Adams “can’t campaign”, the judge paused and then said, with an audible exhalation, “Okay”.

Justice Ho has pledged to reach a timely resolution. It’s unclear what would happen if he does not dismiss the charges, but Spiro said they could appeal against that ruling.

After the hearing, Bove released a statement saying those in the department who did not support Trump’s “critical mission” should resign.

“I went to New York today to show the men and women of the Justice Department as well as the American people that I am personally committed to our shared fight: ending weaponized government, stopping the invasion of criminal illegal aliens, and eliminating drug cartels and transnational gangs from our homeland,” he said.

Adams’ indictment has embroiled his administration in scandal, with several city officials resigning.

A Democrat, Adams has accused investigators of pursuing a case against him because of his criticism of former President Joe Biden’s immigration policies.

He has also expressed a willingness to work with Trump, and met Trump at his Florida home days before the Republican took office. Adams denied there was any discussion of his case.

A top prosecutor in Manhattan last week alleged the New York City mayor had asked the Trump administration to drop a corruption case against him in exchange for his cooperation on immigration enforcement.

Four of Adams’ top deputies, including the first deputy mayor, resigned on Monday after the Justice Department filed a motion to dismiss the criminal case against Adams.

The “alleged conduct at City Hall that has been reported over the past two weeks is troubling and cannot be ignored”, Hochul said in a statement.

“In the 235 years of New York State history, these powers have never been utilized to remove a duly-elected mayor; overturning the will of the voters is a serious step that should not be taken lightly,” Hochul said.

Adams was indicted last year for allegedly accepting gifts totalling more than $100,000 (£75,000) from Turkish citizens in exchange for favours. He denies the charges. The trial is scheduled for April.

But his administration has been plagued by staff departures and scandals since the charges against him were first announced. A number of members of his orbit have also been charged as a part of the investigation.

The governor’s meeting with “key leaders” on Tuesday follows the resignations of four of Adams’ top deputies – First Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer; Deputy mayor for Health and Human Services Anne Williams-Isom; the deputy mayor for operations, Meera Joshi; and the deputy mayor for public safety, Chauncey Parker.

“I am disappointed to see them go, but given the current challenges, I understand their decision and wish them nothing but success in the future,” Adams said in a statement after accepting the resignations on Monday.

In a joint statement, Torres-Springer, Joshi and Williams-Isom said they were resigning because of the latest scandal.

“Due to the extraordinary events of the last few weeks and to stay faithful to the oaths we swore to New Yorkers and our families, we have come to the difficult decision to step down from our roles,” they said.

Last week, the former US attorney for the Southern District of New York, Danielle Sassoon, resigned over pressure from the Justice Department to drop the Adams case.

Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove argued that the case against Adams had “restricted” the mayor’s ability to address “illegal immigration and violent crime” – two of President Donald Trump’s key priorities.

Ms Sassoon said dropping the case would set a “breathtaking and dangerous precedent”.

Seven other Justice Department officials left before prosecutors eventually filed a motion to drop the case. New York Judge Dale Ho still needs to sign off on the request.

During an interview alongside Trump’s border czar Tom Homan last week, Adams denied he had proposed the Justice Department drop the case in exchange for immigration measures, a move Ms Sassoon said amounted to a “quid pro quo”.

Adams said the allegations were “silly”.

Hochul faced calls to remove Adams after the indictment against him was first unsealed last September, but she did not move to do so then.

Seven justice department lawyers, including the top US prosecutor in Manhattan, resigned over an order to drop the case.

US Attorney General Pam Bondi told Fox News on Friday that it was her understanding that the case against Adams would be “dismissed today”.

Adams was indicted last year on fraud and bribery charges. He denies any wrongdoing.

0:44Watch: ‘I never broke the law’ – New York Mayor Eric Adams

The request to drop the charges will require approval by a judge.

Earlier in the week, acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove – Bondi’s second-in-command – ordered the Manhattan federal prosecutor’s office to end the case.

Bove argued that the case against Adams had “restricted” the mayor’s ability to address “illegal immigration and violent crime” – two of President Donald Trump’s key priorities.

The motion to dismiss the case, signed by Bove and two justice department lawyers, said that pursuing the case “would interfere with the defendant’s ability to govern in New York City, which poses unacceptable threats to public safety, national security, and related federal immigration initiatives and policies”.

But several Department of Justice employees, including the top prosecutor in Manhattan, Danielle Sassoon, viewed the order to drop the case as politically motivated interference in the independent judicial system.

Sassoon resigned from her post on Thursday and was followed by six of her colleagues.

She said dropping the case would set a “breathtaking and dangerous precedent”.

The latest prosecutor to resign in protest at being ordered to drop the charges, Hagan Scotten, wrote in his resignation letter on Friday that US laws and traditions do not allow for “using prosecutorial power” to influence elected officials.

“If no lawyer within earshot of the President is willing to give him that advice, then I expect you will eventually find someone who is enough of a fool, or enough of a coward, to file your motion,” Scotten wrote in the letter addressed to Bove. “But it was never going to be me.”

In a letter accepting Sassoon’s resignation, Bove said his office would be investigating the attorney, claiming she had “lost sight of the oath that you took when you started at the Department of Justice”.

In a statement, Bondi’s chief of staff Chad Mizelle defended the decision to dismiss the charges, saying it showed “that this DOJ will return to its core function of prosecuting dangerous criminals, not pursuing politically motivated witch hunts”.

Mr Mizelle said that prosecutors who refuse direct orders “have no place” in the department.

Adams was indicted last year for allegedly accepting gifts totalling more than $100,000 (£75,000) from Turkish citizens in exchange for favours.

In Sassoon’s resignation letter, she also said Adams’ lawyers had met justice department officials and asked for a “quid pro quo”, saying the New York City mayor could help enforce Trump’s immigration policies if the case against him was dismissed.

But Adams denied that was the case.

“I want to be crystal clear with New Yorkers: I never offered – nor did anyone offer on my behalf – any trade of my authority as your mayor for an end to my case. Never,” he said in a statement on Friday.

Adams, a Democrat, has accused investigators of pursuing a politically motivated case against him because of his criticism of former President Joe Biden’s immigration policies.

The New York mayor has also expressed a willingness to work with Trump since he won the White House. He flew to meet Trump at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida days before the Republican president took office.

After a meeting with US border tsar Tom Homan on Thursday, Adams said he would agree to allow Immigrations and Customs Enforcement to re-establish an office at the city’s Rikers Island jail.

Trump has denied that he had any involvement in asking prosecutors to dismiss the case against Adams.

But Bove’s letter described his instructions to drop the case as “direct orders implementing the policy of a duly elected President”.

The governor of New York state, Kathy Hochul, has the power to remove Adams from office.

While she has not said she would take such action, she also indicated she hasn’t entirely ruled it out, telling MSNBC that she was “consulting with other leaders in government at this time”.

“The allegations are extremely concerning and serious,” she said. “But I cannot, as the governor of this state, have a knee-jerk, politically motivated reaction.”

Danielle Sassoon, a conservative lawyer recently promoted by President Donald Trump, said dismissing the case would set a “breathtaking and dangerous precedent”.

Sassoon’s departure – along with at least two other top justice department officials – is the latest sign of disquiet over sweeping changes the Trump administration is making in federal law enforcement.

In an indictment last September, Adams is alleged to have accepted gifts totalling more than $100,000 (£75,000) from Turkish citizens in exchange for favours. He denies the charges.

The case was initially brought by officials appointed by former President Joe Biden.

But on Monday, a Trump appointee, acting deputy attorney general Emil Bove, ordered Sassoon and New York prosecutors to drop the case, saying it “restricted” the mayor’s ability to address “illegal immigration and violent crime” – a key goal of Trump’s administration.

Bove did not address the merits of the case and noted that the justice department would reserve the right to reinstitute the charges after New York City’s mayoral election in November.

Sassoon refused to drop the case, however, setting out her reasoning in a letter to Bove’s boss, Attorney General Pam Bondi, on Thursday and saying she saw no “good faith” reason for dropping the case.

“Because the law does not support a dismissal, and because I am confident that Adams has committed the crimes with which he is charged, I cannot agree to seek a dismissal driven by improper considerations,” she wrote.

Sassoon said her office held a meeting with Bove and lawyers for Adams on 31 January in which the mayor’s representatives offered “what amounted to a quid pro quo”, saying Adams would be able to help with administration policies “only if the indictment were dismissed”.

Alex Spiro, a lawyer for Adams, denied that there was any deal tying immigration enforcement with the dropping of the case.

He said in a statement: “The idea that there was a quid pro quo [with the Trump administration] is a total lie. We offered nothing and the department asked nothing of us.”

In a letter accepting her resignation, Bove accused Sassoon of attempting to “continue pursuing a politically motivated prosecution despite an express instruction to dismiss the case”.

He also said that other prosecutors who worked on the Adams case would be placed on leave and would be subject to an internal investigation – and that Sassoon would be investigated as well.

Two other justice department prosecutors resigned on Thursday: John Keller, acting head of the public corruption unit, and Kevin Driscoll, a senior official in the department’s criminal division.

Later on Thursday, US media outlets reported three additional prosecutors with the justice department’s corruption unit also resigned.

Sassoon, 38, joined the federal prosecutor’s office in Manhattan in 2016 and was part of the team that prosecuted FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried.

Mayor Adams, a Democrat, has expressed a willingness to work with the Trump administration when it comes to the president’s hardline immigration policy. On Thursday, after a meeting with Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan, the mayor agreed that immigration officials could re-establish an office at the city’s Rikers Island jail.

In a statement, Adams said: “I want to work with the new federal administration, not war with them, to find common ground and make better the lives of New Yorkers.”

The New York mayor met with Trump in Florida days before his inauguration, and then attended his swearing-in ceremony on 20 January. Adams denied at the time that he discussed his legal issues with the incoming president.

On Thursday, Trump told reporters that he had not asked for the case against Adams to be dropped.

However, Bove’s letter described his instructions to drop the case as “direct orders implementing the policy of a duly elected President”.

Adams was indicted last autumn on charges of wire fraud, bribery, and receiving campaign contributions from foreigners.

According to a 57-page indictment, the mayor allegedly accepted hotel stays, lavish meals and airline upgrades from Turkish nationals beginning in 2016, when he was president of the New York City borough of Brooklyn.

In one instance, Adams is alleged to have paid $600 for a two-night stay at a luxury hotel in Istanbul, a visit that was valued at approximately $7,000.

He has pleaded not guilty and denies any wrongdoing.