New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is currently facing an investigation into the claims of sexual harassment made against him. President Joe Biden weighed in on the situation during his interview on ABC, saying that Cuomo should step down if the claims were proven true.
Speaking with George Stephanopoulos on ABC News Tuesday, Biden was pressed on the allegations made against Cuomo. When pressed on whether or not he thinks Cuomo should step down if the allegations were confirmed by the ongoing investigation, Biden said yes, adding that it is likely that Cuomo would also face prosecution for his actions. Biden’s answer echoes that of his fellow Democrats of the New York delegation, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who has called for Cuomo to step down in light of the recent claims.
Cuomo responded that he would not be stepping down and added that the lawmakers who are calling for his resignation would not know the facts until the investigation is done. New York Attorney General Letitia James is currently conducting the investigation and has appointed two lawyers to lead the investigation, one of them being a former acting US attorney.
“Takes a lot of courage to come forward. So the presumption is they should be taken seriously. But there should be an investigation to determine whether what she says is true. And that’s what’s underway here,” said Biden, citing the several women who have come forward and accused Cuomo of inappropriate behavior.
Meanwhile, the Biden administration is reportedly eyeing the middle of May to ease restrictions on traveling across both the northern and southern borders as well as inbound international travel coming from the United Kingdom, Europe, and Brazil. According to people familiar with the matter, there has yet to be a policy memo or a formal statement regarding the time frame as talks are focused on trying to combat the transmission of the new COVID variants domestically. This also comes as states are making their own decisions when it comes to reopening.
One senior Biden administration official revealed that there would be a big change coming by the middle of May when the vaccines are more available to everyone.