Pressure continues to mount on New York’s Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo to resign. Facing at least seven different claims of unwanted advances to women, he has vowed not to cave to cancel culture. Now, the national leaders of his own party are sending the first signals of a loss of confidence in him.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, “No tolerance. And this is a subject very near and dear to my heart. This is — no tolerance for sexual harassment. I’ll let the world know that. … I’m saying is the governor should look inside his heart — he loves New York — to see if he can govern effectively.”
Like Pelosi, President Biden for the first time addressed the Cuomo crisis on Sunday, also pointing to the New York attorney general’s investigation, saying, “I think the investigation is underway, and we should see what it brings us.”
It is a perilous path for the president to walk, given his own “handsy” reputation, as well as a more serious accusation by former staffer Tara Reade, who claims she was digitally raped by then-Sen. Biden in 1993. By that standard, the latest accusation against Cuomo is relatively benign.
A former Albany reporter, Jessica Bakeman, then 25 years old, alleges Cuomo at a 2014 holiday party “took my hand as if to shake it, then refused to let go. He put his other arm around my back, his hand on my waist, and held me firmly in place while indicating to a photographer he wanted us to pose for a picture.”
At a press conference Friday, Cuomo called the accusations against him “reckless and dangerous. … I never harassed anyone, I never assaulted anyone, I never abused anyone.”
But he finds himself increasingly alone. On Friday, more than 10 members of New York’s congressional delegation, including House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, called on Cuomo to step down. Shortly after their written statement, New York’s two Democratic U.S. senators, Kirsten Gillibrand and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, joined the chorus. Their statement read, “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.”
That, while 54 out of 63 members of the New York Senate have indicated Cuomo should resign or temporarily step aside.
Only 42 are needed to convict the governor, if the State Assembly pursues an impeachment trial.
In a sign that Cuomo may be doubling down on his determination to hold power, multiple publications are reporting that Cuomo loyalist, Larry Schwartz, who runs the state’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution, has been calling county executives over the last two weeks to gauge their support for Cuomo. Some read it as grossly inappropriate and a potential threat, given that Schwartz controls vaccine distribution.
