Politics

‘He Can No Longer Remain In Office’: NY Assembly Speaker Says Lawmakers Will Move ‘Quickly’ On Impeachment

(Photo by Carlo Allegri-Pool/Getty Images)

Anders Hagstrom White House Correspondent
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Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has lost the support of his State Assembly and will “quickly” face impeachment if he does not resign, the Democratic New York Assembly Speaker announced Tuesday.

The statement from Speaker Carl Heastie came hours after New York Attorney General Letitia James announced that an investigation found that Cuomo had sexually harassed staff and other women in the past. Democratic leaders in Washington have also abandoned Cuomo in droves, with both President Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi calling for him to resign.  (RELATED: Pelosi Officially Calls On Cuomo To Resign)

“It is abundantly clear to me that the Governor has lost the confidence of the Assembly Democratic majority and that he can no longer remain in office,” Heastie said in a statement to The New York Times. “We will move expeditiously and look to conclude our impeachment investigation as quickly as possible.”

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JULY 06: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo declares a state of emergency Tuesday due to the ongoing violence on July 06, 2021 in New York City.The new declaration by Cuomo will come with millions of dollars for gun and violence prevention programs across the state. The governor also announced that he will be signing a law that bars individuals with active warrants from buying a gun in the state of New York. Over the July 4th holiday weekend, 51 people were shot in New York. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JULY 06: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo declares a state of emergency Tuesday due to the ongoing violence on July 06, 2021 in New York City.The new declaration by Cuomo will come with millions of dollars for gun and violence prevention programs across the state. The governor also announced that he will be signing a law that bars individuals with active warrants from buying a gun in the state of New York. Over the July 4th holiday weekend, 51 people were shot in New York. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Democratic state lawmakers in New York reportedly held a meeting to discuss the conclusion of the investigation into Cuomo on Tuesday, and the tide has turned against the embattled governor.

“The vast majority of the conference is ready to impeach him,” one of the people with knowledge of Tuesday’s meeting told NYT. “It’s clear there’s a change. A number of people who typically side with leadership said, ‘This is done.’”

Cuomo has attempted to fend off multiple scandals for roughly a year. He and his administration were also found to have covered up the COVID-19 deaths of thousands of elderly Americans in New York nursing homes after the state government chose to treat COVID-19 patients at the facilities.