The two Senate Democrats from New York joined calls for Gov. Andrew Cuomo to resign over mounting allegations of sexual misconduct.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand urged their fellow Democrat to step down in a joint statement on Friday, hours after Cuomo again said he would defy mounting demand for him to leave office.
“Confronting and overcoming the Covid crisis requires sure and steady leadership. We commend the brave actions of the individuals who have come forward with serious allegations of abuse and misconduct. 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,” they said.
BIDEN SILENT AS DEMOCRATS MOUNT CALLS FOR ANDREW CUOMO TO STEP DOWN
The senators were slow to join calls for Cuomo’s resignation, with most of the state’s congressional delegation already urging the governor to step down in recent days. Reps. Jerry Nadler, Kathleen Rice, and Carolyn Maloney were among those calling for Cuomo’s ouster at the federal level, while lawmakers in the New York state Assembly initiated an “impeachment investigation” under the direction of Speaker Carl Heastie, a Democrat.
Schumer and Gillibrand were singled out by one of Cuomo’s accusers, Lindsey Boylan, who threatened to start a political action committee opposing the two Democrats as a result of their inaction.
“You are cowards @SenGillibrand @SenSchumer and I look forward to supporting whoever primaries you,” she tweeted prior to the announcement. “I literally plan to open a PAC to oust you both, you colossal cowards. Get ready!”
Gillibrand, a failed 2020 presidential candidate, was a vocal supporter of women who have made allegations against other high-profile political figures, calling on then Sen. Al Franken to step down and U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh to remove his name from contention over allegations against them.
“As someone who has led these issues on ending sexual violence in the military, ending sexual assault on college campuses, changing the rules in Congress on harassment, I really just got to the point where I couldn’t remain silent,” Gillibrand said of the Franken accusations in 2019. “And I don’t think anyone should be blaming me or the women of the Senate for standing up for women who have been harassed, or have been demeaned, or have been treated poorly.”
Franken, who apologized but maintained in a Senate speech that “some of the allegations” were “simply not true,” ultimately resigned in December 2017.
After a series of hearings and a limited FBI investigation into the allegations of Kavanaugh accuser Christine Blasey Ford, the Trump nominee, who vehemently denied the allegations, was narrowly confirmed in the GOP-controlled Senate.
Unlike calls for Cuomo to resign from other New York Democratic lawmakers, such as Reps. Jamaal Bowman and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Schumer and Gillibrand did not explicitly reference a separate scandal embroiling Cuomo related to his handling of the nursing homes during the coronavirus pandemic.
“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,” read Bowman’s and Ocasio-Cortez’s statement.
Despite the mounting pressure, Cuomo is refusing to resign.
“I’m not going to resign,” he said during a conference call with reporters on Friday.
The governor claimed he never engaged in inappropriate touching but apologized for making anyone feel uncomfortable.
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Seven women have accused Cuomo of engaging in sexual impropriety, with the allegations ranging from extensive questioning of the accusers’ dating lives to groping and inappropriate touching.
Two investigations into the allegations are underway. Attorney General Letitia James appointed two attorneys to lead an investigation at the state level on Monday, and lawmakers in the state Assembly commenced their impeachment investigation on Thursday.
