The coronavirus pandemic had made him a national political star, but a year later, weighed down by accusations of sexual harassment, the powerful governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, ended up throwing in the towel by announcing his resignation on Tuesday.
“Under the circumstances, the best way to help you is to retire,” Andrew Cuomo told New Yorkers in a video statement from his office, also offering his “deep apologies” to women who “felt offended” by his actions.
The 63-year-old governor, who was in his third term as head of the country’s fourth most populous state (about 20 million people), finally let go, six months after the first calls for his resignation because of of that case and seven days after the damning findings of an investigation requested by state attorney general Letitia James.
A decision hailed by US President Joe Biden, who said “respect the decision” of Andrew Cuomo after calling for his resignation a week ago.
“It was high time that Andrew Cuomo resigned, for the good of all New York,” added the mayor of the city, Democrat Bill de Blasio, openly hostile to the governor.
The investigations, contained in a 168-page report, concluded that Andrew Cuomo had violated federal and New York State laws and sexually harassed 11 women, the majority of whom were collaborators and employees, and listed many inappropriate gestures or attitudes.
“The most serious accusations do not rest on any credible basis in the report,” Andrew Cuomo defended himself on Tuesday, shortly after a long intervention by his lawyer, who renewed the accusations of bias against Letitia James’ team. “But that doesn’t mean 11 women weren’t offended. They are. And for that, I apologize deeply, ”added the governor, assuring that he was not aware of the scope of his actions, while he is accused in some cases of having touched the buttocks or breasts of some. women.
Andrew Cuomo said his resignation would take effect in 14 days and paid tribute to Vice-Governor Kathy Hochul, “intelligent and capable”, who will replace him and become the first female governor of the State of New York.
With this resignation, the race for Andrew Cuomo’s succession is open on the Democratic side, while the next elections will take place at the end of 2022. Without officially declaring herself a candidate, Kathy Hochul displayed her ambitions on Tuesday, saying she was ready “to be the 57e Governor of the State of New York ”. Among the potential contenders, the name of Letitia James is also mentioned.
Vertiginous fall
The fall is in any case vertiginous for Andrew Cuomo, descendant of Italian immigrants, fed into politics by his father, Mario Cuomo, who was himself governor of the state for three terms (1983-1994).
As the head of state, this former housing secretary to Bill Clinton, who was married to one of Bob Kennedy’s daughters, passed several progressive laws, such as gay marriage in 2011, or the minimum wage at 15 $ per hour.
It was especially in the spring of 2020, when New York was hit hard by COVID-19, that Andrew Cuomo acquired the status of national star. With his daily, rational and reassuring press briefings, this experienced but reputedly tough and authoritarian politician had changed dimension, embodying the antithesis of Donald Trump and the unpredictable announcements of the former US president. His repeated exchanges in a playful tone with his brother Chris, star journalist of CNN, had also marked the viewers confined.
But the governor’s record had, however, already been tarnished by a case of an underestimation of the death toll from COVID-19 in nursing homes, and then by accusations of sexual harassment that had emerged at the beginning of the year.
Calling himself a “fighter,” as he repeated on Tuesday, Andrew Cuomo was increasingly alone. For the past week, calls for his resignation have come from all sides. In addition, New York State parliamentarians appeared increasingly determined to order an impeachment trial, and a former assistant’s complaint, filed last week, had opened the door to possible legal action. . This former collaborator was also out of anonymity Monday by telling the CBS channel how her “dream job” had “turned into a nightmare”.
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