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A growing number of members of the New York Democratic House are calling on Governor Andrew Cuomo to step down amid multiple allegations of sexual harassment against him. At least nine House Democrats have issued statements urging the besieged governor to step down, including Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler and People’s Progressive MP Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
“The repeated accusations against the governor, and the manner in which he responded to them, made it impossible for him to continue to govern at this stage,” Nadler said in a statement. “Governor Cuomo has lost the confidence of the people of New York. Governor Cuomo must resign.”
In a joint statement, Ocasio-Cortez and Congressman Jamaal Bowman cited the growing number of allegations against Cuomo, as well as the administration’s allegations. misleading reports of COVID-19 deaths of nursing home residents, as reasons the governor should step down. State Attorney General Letitia James released a report accusing the administration of underreporting nursing home deaths by more than 50% last month.
“As members of the New York delegation to the United States House of Representatives, we believe these women, we believe the report, we believe the Attorney General, and we believe the fifty-five members of the legislature of New York State, including the Majority Leader State Senate, which concluded that Governor Cuomo can no longer lead effectively in the face of so many challenges, ”said Ocasio-Cortez and Bowman.
On Friday morning, Nadler, Ocasio-Cortez and Bowman were joined by representatives Nydia Velázquez, Adriano Espaillat, Grace Meng, Mondaire Jones, Carolyn Maloney, Yvette Clarke, Antonio Delgado, Sean Patrick Maloney, Brian Higgins and Paul Tonko to call on Cuomo to resign . Congresswoman Kathleen Rice was the first member of the New York delegation to ask Cuomo to step down on March 1.
US Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand have yet to call for Cuomo’s resignation. Gillibrand, who was the first senator to call for Senator Al Franken’s resignation amid multiple allegations of sexual misconduct, said in an interview with Yahoo Finance on Tuesday that talking about Cuomo’s resignation “is not the right conversation. that we should have “.
“Asking every elected official in our state when someone should resign or not resign is not really the conversation we should be having. And I have to say it’s extremely frustrating because you don’t ask so many men who are also in the public leadership. these day to day matters, “she said.” Women in our state are not meant to be judges, jurors and executioners. ”
Gillibrand has also known Cuomo for years – she was the Special Advisor on Housing and Urban Development when Cuomo was secretary of the HUD under President Clinton’s administration.
In a call with reporters on Friday, Cuomo denied all of the allegations against him and said he would not resign.
“I didn’t do what was alleged. Period,” Cuomo said. He also implicitly criticized lawmakers who called on him to step down, saying they were making decisions without knowing the facts.
“I am not going to resign. I was not elected by the politicians, I was elected by the people,” Cuomo said. “People know the difference between playing politics, bowing to nullify culture and truth.”
Cuomo previously said last week that he would not resign, but his office has vowed to cooperate with the New York attorney general’s investigation into the allegations of sexual misconduct against him.
Meanwhile, New York Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie on Thursday authorized an impeachment inquiry in the allegations of misconduct he faces.
The governor is also quickly losing the support of state lawmakers. More than 55 state lawmakers said in a letter on Thursday that they wanted the governor’s exit.
“The budget, the fight against COVID-19 and restarting the economy all depend on clear and trustworthy leadership,” the letter said. “In light of the governor’s admission of inappropriate behavior and the changed data results of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes, he has lost the confidence of the public and the state legislature, making it ineffective in this time of most urgent need. “
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