New York Governor Andrew Cuomo listens to speakers at a vaccination website on March 8, 2021, in New York.
SETH WENIG | AFP | Getty Images
A bulk of congressional Democrats from New York, consisting of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler, on Friday released near-simultaneous require Gov. Andrew Cuomo to resign.
“The repeated accusations against the Governor, and the manner in which he has responded to them, have made it impossible for him to continue to govern at this point,” Nadler stated in a declaration on Twitter.
“Governor Cuomo has lost the confidence of the people of New York. Governor Cuomo must resign,” Nadler stated.
So far, 12 of the 19 House Democrats from New York have actually required Cuomo to give up.
The embattled Democratic guv has actually dealt with require his resignation from state-level political leaders within his own celebration over a growing list of unwanted sexual advances and work environment misbehavior accusations versus him.
Cuomo has actually promised not to resign and has actually prompted individuals to suspend judgment on the many accusations versus him till the conclusion of an examination by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
In a teleconference with press reporters Friday afternoon, Cuomo duplicated he would not step down.
“I did not do what has been alleged, period,” Cuomo stated. “I never harassed anyone, I never assaulted anyone, I never abused anyone.”
The bold guv included: “Politicians who don’t know a single fact, but yet form a conclusion and then an opinion, are in my opinion reckless and dangerous.”
Democrats and Republicans in the Empire State have actually just increase the pressure on Cuomo, most just recently by taking actions towards an impeachment probe.
Cuomo has actually recommended that the attacks are encouraged by politics. Several New York Democrats are presently thinking about releasing quotes for Cuomo’s task as his political future appears progressively in doubt.
“People know the difference between playing politics, bowing to cancel culture, and the truth,” Cuomo stated Friday.
But a deluge of congressional Democrats on Friday early morning signed up with the growing chorus versus Cuomo, who is under fire not just for the harassment accusations however likewise for his administration’s handling of Covid in retirement home.
“As members of the New York delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives, we believe these women, we believe the reporting, we believe the Attorney General, and we believe the fifty-five members of the New York State legislature, including the State Senate Majority Leader, who have concluded that Governor Cuomo can no longer effectively lead in the face of so many challenges,” Reps. Ocasio-Cortez and Jamaal Bowman stated in a joint declaration.
Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) (L) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY)
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“As public servants, we must earn the trust and respect of those we represent. There is only one way the Governor can truly restore accountability and confidence to his office: he must resign,” stated the declaration from Rep. Nydia Velazquez.
House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney, in her own declaration, stated, “We have come a long way, but now is the time to finally ensure that this generation’s courage stops harassment once and for all.”
Rep. Kathleen Rice in early March had actually been the very first House Democrat from New York to require the guv’s resignation.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, a Democrat understood to have an adversarial relationship with Cuomo, stated previously today that he “can no longer serve as governor.”
Notably, New York’s 2 Democratic senators have actually up until now hesitated to contact Cuomo to resign.
On Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called the current claim versus Cuomo “nauseating” however stopped short of requiring that the guv step down.
Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand did not right away react to ask for discuss the advancement from House Democrats. The White House likewise did not right away react to an ask for remark.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki stated Tuesday that she has actually spoken to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris about Cuomo’s debates, “and I’ve reiterated on their behalf that they believe all women should be heard, that they should be treated with respect.”
Noting the examination underway by James, Psaki stated Biden and Harris “respect that and believe that should move forward.”
Cuomo had actually at first been applauded for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic as it hammered New York in 2020. The guv’s routine live rundowns on the state’s development versus the infection made him an International Emmy award, and in the middle of the pandemic he even released a book offering “lessons in leadership.”
But much of that appreciation vaporized amidst debate over his administration’s handling of Covid retirement home death information.
In late January, James implicated the Cuomo administration of substantially underreporting the variety of Covid deaths connected to nursing houses. That conclusion of a monthslong probe followed accusations that New York retirement home stopped working to follow Covid security procedures.
On March 5, New York state legislators voted to strip Cuomo of the emergency situation powers he had actually been given to combat the pandemic.
— CNBC’s Jacob Pramuk, Tom Franck and Brian Schwartz added to this report.
