12 House Democrats from New York — including the chairs of the powerful Oversight Committee and Judiciary Committee — issued statements within minutes of each other on Friday calling for New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to resign in the wake of a sixth sexual harassment allegation.
Why it matters: Pressure for Cuomo to resign is now coming from Congress. 13 of the 19 House Democrats from the New York delegation have now called for his resignation, with the 10 on Friday joining Rep. Kathleen Rice — who called for the governor to step down on March 1 after a third accuser came forward.
The list includes:
- House Judiciary chair Jerry Nadler
- House Oversight chair Carolyn Maloney
- Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
- Rep. Jamal Bowman
- Rep. Mondaire Jones
- Rep. Grace Meng
- Rep. Yvette Clark
- Rep. Adriano Espaillat
- Rep. Nydia Velasquez
- Rep. Anthony Delgado
- Rep. Brian Higgins
- Rep. Sean Maloney
Between the lines: As of 11:40 a.m., six Democratic members of the New York delegation had not appeared to join Friday’s coordinated campaign — Reps. Hakeem Jeffries, Gregory Meeks, Tom Suozzi, Ritchie Torres, Paul Tonko and Joe Morelle.
The big picture: The statements come one day after New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and 59 New York state lawmakers called for Cuomo to resign.
- New York State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie has authorized an impeachment investigation into Cuomo. 47 state senators have said Cuomo should step aside, more than the 46 needed to convict the governor if he’s impeached by the Assembly.
- The governor is also facing an independent inquiry from the New York attorney general and a police inquiry in Albany.
