Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Hard News Hard Hitting News Source Global Political News

Covid-19 News

Hochul Prepares For Spotlight As Cuomo Steps Aside

FILE – In this Tuesday, May 4, 2021, file photo, New York Lt. Gov Kathy Hochul speaks at a ribbon cutting ceremony in the Bronx borough of New York. Hochul is preparing to take the reins of power after Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2021, that he would resign from office amid allegations that he sexually harassed several women. Cuomo denies touching anyone inappropriately. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Kathy Hochul, a western New York Democrat unfamiliar to many people in the state even after six years as its lieutenant governor, was set to begin reintroducing herself to the public Wednesday as she prepared to take the reins of power after Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced he would resign from office.

Hochul, 62, in two weeks will become the state’s first female governor, following a remarkable transition period in which Cuomo has said he will stay on and work to ease her into a job that he dominated over his three terms in office.

She stayed out of public sight Tuesday but said in a statement that she was “prepared to lead.” Hochul planned to hold her first news conference Wednesday afternoon at the State Capitol, in the very room where Cuomo became a familiar face to people across the U.S. and beyond for his televised briefings on New York’s fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

Cuomo, 63, announced Tuesday that he would step down rather than face a likely impeachment trial over allegations that he sexually harassed at least 11 women, including one who accused him of groping her breast.

Cuomo has continued to deny that he touched anyone inappropriately, and said his instinct was to fight back against claims he felt were unfair or fabricated. But he said that with the state still in a pandemic crisis, it was best for him to step aside so the state’s leaders could “get back to governing.”

That job will fall to Hochul, who served briefly in Congress representing a Buffalo-area district, but purposely kept a modest profile as lieutenant governor in a state where Cuomo commanded — and demanded — the spotlight.

A seasoned veteran of retail politics, Hochul shares some of Cuomo’s centrist politics, but is a stylistic contrast with a governor famous for his love of steamrolling opponents and holding grudges, state political veterans say. She’s well-liked by colleagues, who say voters shouldn’t confuse her quiet approach under Cuomo with a lack of confidence or competence.

“Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul will be an extraordinary governor,” Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, another upstate political veteran, told reporters at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday. “She understands the complexities and needs of our state, having been both a congresswoman and having been lieutenant governor for the last several years.”

It remains to be seen how involved Cuomo will be in state government over the next two weeks, or how he’ll manage handing over authority — something he rarely ceded during his time in office.

His circle of advisers has shrunk, but his closest aide and policymaking partner — Melissa DeRosa — made a surprise return to Cuomo’s side after having announced her resignation from the administration Sunday. The governor’s office said she will remain in her job as secretary to the governor until Cuomo departs.

Leaders in the state legislature have yet to say whether they plan on dropping an impeachment investigation that has been ongoing since March, and which had been expected to conclude in the coming weeks.

In addition to examining his conduct with women, lawyers hired by the state Assembly had been investigating whether the administration’ manipulated data on COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes and whether Cuomo improperly got help from his staff writing a book about the pandemic.

Republicans have urged the Democratic-controlled legislature to go ahead with impeachment, possibly to prevent Cuomo from running for office again.

Copyright 2020 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

Source: https://apnews.com/article/andrew-cuomo-health-coronavirus-pandemic-cf6794c4cf5a82d6be7739009b8fe8fe

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You May Also Like

Business News

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Psilocybin tea, wind chimes and a tie-dye mattress await those coming to an office suite in Eugene to trip on...

Business News

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is trumpeting Medicare’s new powers to negotiate directly with drugmakers on the cost of prescription medications — but a poll shows that...

Health News

Resistant starch is a nondigestible fiber that ferments in the large intestine, and consumption of it has previously been shown to have a positive...

Accidents

MARRAKECH, Morocco (AP) — A rare, powerful earthquake struck Morocco, sending people racing from their beds into the streets and toppling buildings in mountainous villages...

Copyright © 2023 Hard News Herd Hitting in Your Face News Source | World News | Breaking News | US News | Political News Website by Top Search SEO