Following sexual misconduct allegations, Republicans in the New York State Assembly have drafted a resolution to begin impeachment proceedings against Governor Andrew Cuomo.
Cuomo has come under fire recently for inappropriate behavior around women and underreporting nursing home deaths resulting from COVID-19 by as much as fifty percent.
According to the New York Post, Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay (R-Syracuse) said the resolution would be introduced Monday, before the end of the day.
“We’re going to introduce this resolution because we believe the time has come,” Barclay said. “In order to lead this great state as governor, you need to have credibility and trust…and unfortunately, we feel the governor has lost that and now has an inability to lead.”
On Sunday, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins called for Cuomo’s resignation, joining a growing number of state Democrats pushing for Cuomo to step down, according to CNN.
“Every day, there is another account that is drawing away from the business of government,” she said. “We need to govern without daily distraction. For the good of the state, Governor Cuomo must resign.”
However, Stewart-Cousins, along with Assembly Majority Leader Crystal People-Stokes (D-Buffalo), Ways and Means Committee Chairwoman Helen Weinstein (D-Brooklyn), and Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte (D-Brooklyn), who is also the Brooklyn Democratic Party chairwoman, signaled that they would oppose impeachment proceedings. They would prefer that Attorney General Letitia James complete her independent review of the allegations.
Cuomo’s offices authorized James to hire an outside law firm on March 1 to conduct the independent investigation on March 1.
Cuomo has publicly stated that he will not step down before the attorney general’s investigation.
