Senator Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) was the furthest from all Democratic senators questioned on the subject. Although she relying on the attorney general’s investigation, she suggested that “there may be an inflection point in relation to Governor Cuomo, where he should resign.”
The #MeToo movement that broke out in a national sexual harassment clash in 2017, fueled in part by the election of Donald Trump, ended the career of members of Congress in both parties. Perhaps no one has become a greater symbol of the Democratic Party’s attempt to enact a zero-tolerance political policy for sexual harassment. than Senator Al Franken (D-Minn.), who resigned after seven women accused him of touching them inappropriately. But the senators view the charges against Cuomo differently than the charges against Franken, who was his colleague.
Although Cuomo is well known and can run for a higher office, senators are leaving the decision on the governor’s political fate to New York state officials.
“I am happy that there is a very rigorous investigation by the attorney general. The most important thing is that women are heard and taken seriously, ”said Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.). On whether Cuomo should resign, she said, “At this point, I think people in New York need to decide that.”
Democrats also denounced sexual assault charges against Judge Brett Kavanaugh during his fight for Supreme Court confirmation, but the situation was even more different: Kavanaugh was a candidate they were under an obligation to examine.
“One of the baselines is that claims like this should be investigated. Now you have an investigation in New York by the attorney general and I assume she will make recommendations, ”said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (DR.I.). “So, the difference is – Al never understood that.”
Senator Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) Predicted that Cuomo was a “hopeless case”, but compared the governor’s situation to that of Franken in this way: “The Senate controls its own.”
The two New York Democratic senators, majority leader Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, strongly endorsed the attorney general’s investigation of Cuomo. Although Cuomo said he plans to cooperate with the investigation and apologized for disturbing the women, the governor made it clear on Wednesday that he has no intention of resigning. In addition to the allegations of sexual harassment, Cuomo also faces an investigation into how he dealt with deaths in nursing homes during the pandemic.
So far, Congresswoman Kathleen Rice (DN.Y.) is the only member of the state delegation to ask for Cuomo’s resignation. Rice asked Franken to step down during her own #MeToo turnaround in 2017, days before Gillibrand became the first senator to call on her colleague to step down.
Other Democratic members of the New York delegation, including Congressman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, are waiting for the investigation to end. Rep. Yvette Clarke told reporters that she is “a big fan of due process”, while Rep. Gregory Meeks described the problem as “a very, very serious thing”.
The charges against Cuomo began last week when her former aide, Lindsey Boylan, wrote an essay that accused the governor of inviting her to play strip poker and of forcibly kissing her on the lips. Days later, a second former aide, Charlotte Bennett, said Cuomo asked her about her sex life, including whether she would consider having sex with older men. A third woman, Anna Ruch, came this week and said that Cuomo asked if he could kiss her at a wedding reception.
“Any public official has to realize that what they say in the workplace is subject to scrutiny,” said Senator Bob Casey (D-Pa.), who refused to comment on Cuomo’s future. “In these cases, these women are going through difficult times and under a lot of pressure to perform. And they need to be heard. It is more than just a review of the actions. Things you say are relevant. ”
Some Republican Party members see a double standard in the Democrats’ treatment of Cuomo compared to other allegations of high-profile misconduct, although Trump has faced more than 20 accusations of sexual harassment and assault, which Republicans have rarely addressed. The former president denied any wrongdoing.
Even so, apart from Schumer and Gillibrand, several Democratic senators said they are not paying much attention to Cuomo’s controversy and have shown little willingness to talk about it.
Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) said he did not live in New York and has “zero thinking”. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) Said she is focused on President Joe Biden’s coronavirus relief plan. When asked about the comment, the Senate majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) Said he had “what everyone else is doing: complete the investigation”.
A senator, addressing the thorny topic on the condition of anonymity, said Democrats have been reluctant to publicly ask Cuomo to step down, despite having no tolerance for sexual harassment charges because it is a controversy in another state. Constituents do not want senators to meddle in other states’ businesses, added the senator.
Senator Lindsey Graham (RS.C.), who rebuked Democrats for their treatment of Kavanaugh during his confirmation, said his colleagues were “tangled in the axle”.
“They were loud, vocal, ‘Kavanaugh needs to go,'” said Graham. “Now they have someone, a prominent Democrat, and they are figuring out how to deal with it. Here’s my advice: treat them all the same. That way, you don’t have to worry about it. “
Anna Gronewold contributed to this report.