The White House is not saying whether President Biden supports Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo continuing to lead the National Governors Association, as the scandal-embroiled New Yorker fights for his political life.
“That’s a decision for the NGA, not a decision for the president or the White House,” press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Tuesday.
This time last year, Cuomo’s handling of the pandemic in the virus-stricken Empire State was widely praised by Democrats. He was in close touch with former President Donald Trump and top adviser Jared Kushner and was a buzzed-about potential Cabinet pick for then-candidate Biden.
After the election, Cuomo’s top aide, Melissa DeRosa, who has overseen much of New York’s pandemic response, began advising White House counselor and longtime Biden confidant Steve Ricchetti.
“Instead of working 24 hours a day, she’s been working 27 hours a day lately,” a source familiar with the arrangement told the New York Daily News at the time. “This underscores the closeness between the governor and the incoming Biden administration and bodes well for the next four years after the last four years of Trump hell.”
A Biden transition official told the newspaper that “having insight and experience from those on the ground, directly responding to COVID-19 has been helpful as we continue to develop and prepare to implement an aggressive response.”
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In February, Cuomo met with Biden in the Oval Office to discuss federal funding for pandemic relief and vaccines alongside a bipartisan group of mayors and governors.
Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus spending package includes $350 billion for state and local governments.
Cuomo’s fortunes have since shifted radically.
He is facing a federal investigation after it was revealed that his administration directed nursing homes in March last year to admit patients who had tested positive for the coronavirus.
DeRosa, in a call with state Democratic leaders last month, admitted they feared the numbers would be used “against us.”
Cuomo is embroiled in a second scandal after three women have come forward to accuse him of making inappropriate advances toward them, leading to widespread calls for him to resign. New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, on Monday launched an investigation into the governor’s alleged harassment.
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Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris “both believe that every woman coming forward should be heard, should be treated with dignity and treated with respect. The governor’s office said he will fully cooperate, and we certainly support that moving forward,” Psaki said Tuesday.
