Top Dems call on Cuomo to quit
ALBANY, N.Y. — As allegations of sexual harassment mount, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo confronted a stunning series of defections Friday that left the high-profile Democrat fighting for his political survival, angry and alone.
Several state lawmakers had called for his resignation earlier in the week, but by day’s end, the three-term governor had lost the support of almost the entire 29member New York congressional delegation and a majority of Democrats in the state legislature. No desertions hurt more than those of New York’s two U.S. senators, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand.
“Due to the multiple, credible sexual harassment and misconduct allegations, it is clear that Governor Cuomo has lost the confidence of his governing partners and the people of New York,”î the Democratic senators wrote in a joint statement. “Governor Cuomo should resign.î
The escalating political crisis jeopardizes Cuomo’s 2022 reelection in an overwhelmingly Democratic state, and threatens to cast a cloud over President Joe Biden’s early days in office. Republicans have seized on the scandal to try to distract from Biden’s success tackling the coronavirus pandemic and challenge his party’s advantage with female voters.
Biden, a longtime ally of Cuomo and his father, former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo, has avoided directly addressing the controversy, although it’s becoming increasingly difficult.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Friday declined to say whether Biden believes Cuomo should resign. She said every woman who has come forth “deserves to have her voice heard, should be treated with respect and should be able to tell her story.”î
A defiant Cuomo earlier in the day insisted he would not step down and condemned his Democratic detractors as “reckless and dangerous.”
“I did not do what has been alleged. Period,î” he said, before evoking a favorite grievance of former President Donald Trump. “People know the difference between playing politics, bowing to cancel culture and the truth.”î
Never before has the brash, 63-yearold governor been more politically isolated.
Some in Cuomo’s party had already turned against him for his administration’s move to keep secret for months how many nursing home residents died of COVID19, and the latest wave of defections signaled a possible tipping point.
Cuomo’s coalition of critics expanded geographically and politically Friday, now covering virtually every region in the state and the political power centers of New York City and Washington. Among them are New York City progressive U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez; the leader of the House Democratic campaign arm, U.S. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney; Buffalobased U.S. Rep. Brian Higgins; and a group of Long Island-based state lawmakers who had been Cuomo loyalists.
“The victims of sexual assault concern me more than politics or other narrow considerations, and I believe Governor Cuomo must step aside,” Maloney said.
Ocasio-Cortez said she believes the women who accused Cuomo.
“After two accounts of sexual assault, four accounts of harassment, the Attorney General’s investigation finding the Governor’s admin hid nursing home data from the legislature and public, we agree with the 55+ members of the New York State legislature that the Governor must resign,”î she tweeted.
Cuomo on Friday insisted that he never touched anyone inappropriately, and said again that he’s sorry if he ever made anyone uncomfortable. He declined to answer a direct question about whether he’s had a consensual romantic relationship with any of the accusers.
“I have not had a sexual relationship that was inappropriate, period,” he said.