Ron Adar/ZUMA
In a remarkable display of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s quickly vanishing support among Democrats amid mounting allegations of his sexual harassment of women and his cover-up of nursing home deaths from the coronavirus, ten House Democrats on Friday issued a series of statements within minutes of each other calling for his resignation.
The Democrats include House Judiciary chair Rep. Jerry Nadler and House Oversight chair Rep. Carolyn Maloney, as well as Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Grace Meng, Jamaal Bowman, Mondaire Jones, Nydia Velázquez, Yvette Clark, and Adriano Espaillat. That brings the total to 11 members of the state’s Democratic delegation to Congress to call for Cuomo to step down after Rep. Kathleen Rice became the first earlier this month.
“The bravery individuals have shown in coming forward to share their experiences with Governor Cuomo is inspiring, and I stand in support with them,” Nadler’s statement read. “The repeated accusations against the Governor, and the manner in which he has responded to them, have made it impossible for him to continue to govern at this point.”
After two accounts of sexual assault, four accounts of harassment, the Attorney General’s investigation finding the Governor’s admin hid nursing home data from the legislature & public, we agree with the 55+ members of the New York State legislature that the Governor must resign. pic.twitter.com/jV5dwtuVPr
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 12, 2021
The statements come one day after state lawmakers opened an impeachment investigation into the mounting scandals engulfing Cuomo, a third-term Democrat, which include new groping charges by an aide that were reported to Albany police. The latest charges appear to be the most serious involving what the Times Union described as Cuomo allegedly “aggressively groping her in a sexually charged manner” inside the state’s executive mansion. Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, the state’s two Democratic senators, have yet to join the calls for the resignation, instead backing an investigation into the claims.
