Pondering future
Columnist Chris Churchill wonders what’s ahead for Gov. Andrew Cuomo./
Andrew Cuomo, Attorney General of the United States. How does that sound? It might sound as melodious as Swedish death metal to some of you, but it could be sweet jazz to the ears of Joe Biden and the governor. In which case, we could be entering Cuomo’s final three months in Albany.
Of course, the possibility of Cuomo leaving for a White House job depends on several preconditions that remain in doubt — including, of course, a Biden victory in November, followed by Uncle Joe’s willingness to have Cuomo knocking around the West Wing. If you’d love to see Cuomo gone, well, don’t get too excited just yet.
For one thing, the governor has already said he isn’t interested.
“I was in a Cabinet, I was in Bill Clinton’s Cabinet, been there, done that,” Cuomo said in June. “I don’t want to go to Washington. They couldn’t drag me. They couldn’t force me.”
Sounds definitive. But if you think that closes the door, I point you to Kirsten Gillibrand’s insistence that she would absolutely not run for president — a claim made less than three months before she launched an exploratory committee for her 2020 run.
Politicians don’t always tell the truth. I apologize if that shocks you.
Longtime Albany watchers have learned to take even the most aggressive pronouncements with a grain of salt, which helps explain why a possible Cuomo departure remains a lively topic of gossip around town.
It isn’t so far-fetched. Biden and Cuomo are said to be good friends and are clear political allies. Cuomo endorsed Biden early and stuck with him when the former vice president looked shaky in the primaries. Both
men are moderate Democrats viewed skeptically by the woke left.
Some believe Cuomo would leave to be Attorney General or Secretary of State but wouldn’t want a lesser Cabinet position. Others say the guy who was Wall Street’s governor is a good fit for Treasury. Hey, what about Chief of Staff ?
Biden seems increasingly frail, which suggests he could use a punch-throwing loyalist fighting for him in the White House. Cuomo could continue to crush progressive pipe dreams — a role he’s relished as governor — as the administration’s twister of arms. He could be the bad cop to Biden’s sunny smile.
But a good Chief of Staff also needs to be a people person and a team player, terms rarely attached to Cuomo. Would the governor’s not-insubstantial ego allow him to succeed in a behind-thescenes role? Perhaps not.
Cuomo as head of
Homeland Security makes more sense. The governor never seems happier than when he has pulled on his windbreaker and khakis to confront Mother Nature’s wrath. And though Cuomo gets more credit for his handling of the coronavirus than he deserves, his national reputation could lead Biden to want him at Homeland Security for the pandemic fight. It would be a starring role for our ambitious governor — a nice perch from which to launch a 2024 presidential campaign.
From a political perspective, Cuomo would probably be leaving at the right time. The governor has rarely been more popular, but dark clouds on the horizon suggest it is all downhill from here. The next few years promise to be a grim time of budget misery and economic malaise.
In all likelihood, Cuomo will be forced to consider unpopular tax hikes, painful spending cuts, even layoffs. It will be a time of deferred plans and small ambitions. Voters will be angry. And if Biden is elected on a blue wave,
Cuomo won’t have Donald Trump and Republicans in Washington to blame for it all. He’ll own the mess.
Who wants the headache? Will it not be tempting to hand the football off to Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul and get out of town?
Some pop psychiatrists maintain that Andrew Cuomo yearns to win a fourth term because the achievement eluded Mario Cuomo. The son wants to top his old man, in other words.
I don’t know. You could just as easily argue that Andrew’s obvious sentimentality toward his father means he wouldn’t want to surpass Mario by winning again. Or that watching Mario suffer the humiliation of defeat would make Andrew wary of meeting the same fate and aware that third-term ennui is difficult to avoid.
So, does Andrew go? Will he stay?
The strong likelihood, I think, is that Andrew Cuomo will still be New York’s governor next year. But I wouldn’t be stunned if the governor says goodbye.