House Democratic lawmakers in New York’s congressional delegation agree that Gov. Andrew Cuomo faces a tough reelection climb following accusations of inappropriate behavior from multiple women.
“Oh, definitely, yes,” Rep. Nydia Velazquez, a Democrat, told the Washington Examiner when asked if she thought Cuomo’s reelection prospects are damaged.
“Look, I was one of the first to put out a tweet and say that a woman’s complaint or any issue that is raised regarding sexual harassment has to be investigated,” she said. “And I support the investigation by the attorney general.”
Cuomo is up for a fourth term in 2022, and his campaign raised $4 million during the pandemic.
Rep. Adriano Espaillat, a Democrat, said the results of the attorney general’s investigation should be public before the April 14 New York state budget deadline. He added, “I don’t see how this helps any candidate get reelected.”
HERE’S WHO HAS ACCUSED CUOMO OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT AMID GROWING RESIGNATION CALLS
A sixth accuser came forward Tuesday alleging Cuomo touched her inappropriately late last year at the governor’s mansion where she had worked. The woman revealed her story just days after two women accused Cuomo of touching them in ways that made them feel uncomfortable.
“Well, it doesn’t look good, but the fact is there’s now an impartial investigation by the attorney general. We’re going to wait for the results of that investigation,” Rep. Jerry Nadler, a Democrat, told the Washington Examiner.
The sexual harassment allegations come amid an investigation led by the State Attorney General Letitia James regarding the Cuomo administration’s decision to move COVID-19-positive patients into nursing homes.
James and the U.S. attorney are probing whether Cuomo’s administration hid data from federal government investigators to obscure the actual nursing home COVID-19 related death toll.
The Democratic lawmakers’ instincts about whether Cuomo is too politically damaged to run for another term is reflected in a Quinnipiac University poll of registered New York state voters. Fifty-five percent said they did not think Cuomo should resign from office, but 59% did not think he should run again either.
Rep. Yvette Clarke, a Democrat, said Cuomo’s reelection prospects remain to be seen.
“I think that he’s definitely going to be challenged. It depends on what the investigation brings out,” she told the Washington Examiner.
Cuomo remained adamant he would not resign on Sunday following a call for him to step down from his post by two of New York’s top Democratic leaders: State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie.
Republicans in the New York Assembly mounted an impeachment effort against Cuomo Monday, citing in the resolution “investigations by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District (of New York) regarding COVID-19 related deaths in nursing homes” and “allegations by at least four former employees of the Executive detailing pervasive sexual harassment by the Governor.” They accused Cuomo of “willful and corrupt misconduct.”
The impeachment process would mandate a large number of assembly Democrats, who currently hold the majority, to advance the resolution.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“He’s got to go, especially when you look at everything in the aggregate. Between the nursing home cover-up, the loss of life, the bullying and harassment, the abuse, the intimidation. When’s enough enough?” asked Rep. Lee Zeldin, a Republican. “You need the rest of the state, legislative Democrats, to speak up and get rid of him.”
