The majority of New York state lawmakers have called for Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s resignation as he faces increasing backlash for his handling of the pandemic and a series of sexual harassment claims made against him.
A total of 122 state lawmakers have called for Cuomo’s resignation, including 65 Democrats and 57 Republicans. The New York state Senate has 63 members, and the Assembly has 150, meaning that well over half of the combined chambers have said they want Cuomo gone.
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The pressure on Cuomo intensified Wednesday evening after a report in the Albany Times Union alleged that the governor had groped a female aide at the governor’s mansion. Albany police on Thursday announced that the matter had been referred to them, raising the specter of legal consequences for Cuomo.
State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie on Thursday announced that he would be meeting with other lawmakers to discuss “potential paths forward” after the groping allegation. Earlier this week, Heastie threw tentative support behind Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, who called for Cuomo’s resignation.
Nearly 60 Democratic lawmakers on Thursday signed a letter demanding that Cuomo step down.
“The Governor needs to put the people of New York first,” the letter said. “We have a Lieutenant Governor who can step in and lead for the remainder of the term, and this is what is best for New Yorkers in this critical time.”
Support for impeaching Cuomo, who has repeatedly said that he will not resign, remains mainly a Republican cause. Only 44 members of the Assembly support impeachment, well short of the 76 votes needed to push the proceedings forward. And the momentum appears to be with Cuomo — of those 44, only eight are Democrats, who hold an overwhelming majority in the chamber.
Still, as Cuomo continues to alienate himself from his party, some lawmakers said that impeachment efforts might have a shot. Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay on Tuesday introduced a motion to impeach the governor. Barclay’s director of communications Michael Fraser told the Washington Examiner that the momentum of Cuomo’s scandals is hurtling toward impeachment.
“The question is: How long will it take more Democrats to accept that reality?” he said.
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Democratic Assemblyman Tom Abinanti, who has been a Cuomo critic in the past, on Thursday told the Associated Press that Cuomo’s brazen responses to his scandals are not helping his case with his party.
“I think the governor’s strategy is foolish because he’s basically daring for us to impeach him,” Abinanti said. “And there may come a time when we do it, but that’s not in his interest or the interest of the people in the state of New York.”
