Andrew Cuomo, the 56th governor of New York State, announced this afternoon that he will resign in 14 days.
Hard-pressed by accusations of sexual abuse brought by 11 different women, Cuomo said in a statewide address “the best way I can help now is if I step aside, and that’s what I’ll do.”
Lt. Governor Kathy Hochul of Buffalo will take over, becoming New York’s first female governor.
Allegations of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior from former female staffers and other women were detailed in a report of an investigation by the State Attorney General, released last week. They added fuel to the Assembly Judiciary Committee’s investigation into whether Cuomo should be impeached.
The Judiciary Committee is also looking at whether Cuomo used state employees and resources to produce his book on the COVID crisis, and whether his handling of state nursing homes during COVID caused more deaths among their residents.