‘He must resign’: Majority of N.Y. House Dems call on Cuomo to step down over sexual harassment claims
Thirteen of New York’s congressional Democrats, including top-ranking Reps. Jerry Nadler and Carolyn Maloney, called on Gov. Cuomo to resign Friday over allegations that he sexually harassed several women, putting significant pressure on the embattled governor who’s already facing an impeachment probe in Albany.
Nadler and Maloney, who chair the powerful House Judiciary and Oversight Committees respectively, kicked off the resignation demands with terse statements ripping Cuomo for both his alleged actions and his response once the claims became public.
“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 said. “Governor Cuomo has lost the confidence of the people of New York. Governor Cuomo must resign.”
Giving a shout-out to the state Senate boss who first demanded Cuomo’s ouster last week, Maloney chimed in: “I join with Majority Leader Andrea Stewart Cousins, my colleagues, and others who have called on Governor Cuomo to resign in the best interest of all New Yorkers.”
The back-to-back Nadler and Maloney announcements opened the floodgates.
Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jamaal Bowman, prominent members of the Democratic Party’s growing progressive wing in Congress, said it’s not just the sexual misconduct claims that justify Cuomo’s resignation.
“Unfortunately, the governor is not only facing the accusation that he engaged in a pattern of sexual harassment and assault. There is also the extensive report from the Attorney General that found the Cuomo administration hid data on COVID-19 nursing home deaths from both the public and the state legislature,” Ocasio-Cortez and Bowman said in a joint statement. “Governor Cuomo can no longer effectively lead in the face of so many challenges.”
Reps. Nydia Velazquez, Grace Meng, Mondaire Jones, Adriano Espaillat, Sean Patrick Maloney, Brian Higgins, Paul Tonko, Yvette Clarke and Antonio Delgado also joined in, issuing individual statements calling for Cuomo to go.
“There is only way the governor can truly restore accountability and confidence to his office: He must resign,” Velazquez said.
Rep. Kathleen Rice, a Democrat who represents parts of Long Island, called on Cuomo to step down already on March 1 after his third accuser came forward.
That puts 14 of New York’s 19 House Democrats on record as demanding the governor’s ouster. New York’s eight congressional Republicans have all also called on Cuomo to step aside.
But Cuomo remained defiant Friday.
“I will not resign,” the governor said on a conference call with reporters.
He denied ever inappropriately touching anyone and, without dropping names, took aim at the growing chorus of lawmakers who are calling on him to quit.
“Politicians who don’t know a single fact but yet form a conclusion and then an opinion are, in my opinion, reckless and dangerous,” Cuomo said before insisting he won’t bow to “cancel culture” and reiterating a call for New Yorkers to withhold judgement until State Attorney General Letitia James concludes her independent investigation of the allegations against him.
But Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the most powerful New Yorker in Congress, did not buy Cuomo’s finger-pointing and joined his House colleagues in calling on the governor to step down.
“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. Governor Cuomo should resign,” Schumer said in a joint statement with fellow New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand.
Like their counterparts on Capitol Hill, many Democratic legislators in Albany say they’ve seen enough to deem Cuomo unfit for office.
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie announced Thursday that his chamber’s judiciary committee will launch an impeachment investigation into the Cuomo claims, suggesting the Legislature is willing to remove the governor if he refuses to resign.
Rep. Tom Suozzi, who represents a portion of Queens and Long Island, was among the six New York Democrats in Congress who did not call on Cuomo to immediately resign Friday.
Instead, Suozzi urged Cuomo to “seriously consider whether he can effectively continue to govern in the midst of these unfolding allegations.”
“If he cannot effectively govern with all of the controversy surrounding him, he must put the interests of all New Yorkers first and he should resign,” Suozzi said.
Cuomo’s troubles began last month when it was revealed that his administration withheld data on coronavirus deaths in New York nursing homes, with the true toll being more than double of what the governor’s officials were saying in public. The Brooklyn U.S. attorney has reportedly launched an investigation into whether Cuomo officials broke any laws by covering up the data.
Since then, six women, including five former aides, have come forward with misconduct accusations against Cuomo, ranging from creepy questions about sex at work to outright assault claims.
The most serious allegation came from an as-of-yet unidentified Cuomo staffer, who says the governor “aggressively” groped her under her blouse at the Executive Mansion in Albany after summoning her there on the auspice that he needed help setting up his cellphone. That allegation has been referred to Albany Police for a potential investigation.
Lindsey Boylan, a former Cuomo adviser currently running for Manhattan borough president, also alleged inappropriate physical advances from the governor, saying he once forcibly kissed her on the lips at his Manhattan office.
Mayor de Blasio, who has a long history of clashing with Cuomo, said Friday he expects the impeachment effort in the state Legislature to “resolve” the matter if the governor doesn’t voluntarily step down soon.
“He can no longer do the job,” de Blasio said in a briefing. “The governor should do the right thing and just recognize that he can’t do the job any longer. He’s lost the faith of his fellow leaders around the state.”
With Michael Gartland and Denis Slattery
