Thursday, December 5

New York Senate takes steps to strip Governor Cuomo of his emergency powers


Legislators from his own party began the rebellion against Andrew Cuomo after learning dimensions of the COVID crisis – 19 in nursing home

Senado de Nueva York da pasos para despojar al gobernador Cuomo de sus poderes de emergencia
Cuomo rose in the early pandemic as a Democratic counterweight against Trump.

Photo: HANS PENNINK / POOL / AFP / Getty Images

For: EFE

The Governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo , he faces an unprecedented rebellion from lawmakers from his own party who want to snatch him the emergency powers for the management of the pandemic, after the dimensions of the coronavirus crisis in nursing homes were known.

The Democratic leaders of the New York Senate began this Wednesday to take steps to strip him of the emergency powers that were granted during the pandemic at the beginning of last year.

This afternoon, Democratic state senator Gustavo Rivera, chairman of the Health Committee, said that they will take action as soon as possible to limit the powers of the governor.

This legislative measure would be a strong blow to the management of Cuomo, who has been criticized for his management of the coronavirus in nursing homes yh has recently been accused of trying to hide data that showed the seriousness of the situation in those centers.

The measure could be adopted next week in Albany (capital of the state of New York) and weigh down the popularity of the governor , which after the first wave of the pandemic, which had a particularly serious impact on the state, came to publish a book teaching on how to manage the coronavirus crisis and was seen as a national projection Democratic star precisely because of his firmness in responding to this crisis.

El Diario The New York Times also revealed this Wednesday that the FBI and the prosecutor Federal District of the Eastern District of New York investigate the management of the Cuomo administration in nursing homes during the worst months of the pandemic They were especially primed with nursing homes.

According to sources consulted by the newspaper, the investigation is in its initial stages and it is not clear whether it is focused on the management of Cuomo or some other person in charge .

Cuomo gave himself broad powers to manage the pandemic and since March it has controlled the decisions on confinement or distribution of vaccines.

Since the beginning of the year, legislators The state authorities have maneuvered to limit Cuomo’s powers, but those conversations gained momentum as the dimensions of mortality in nursing homes due to the pandemic became known, whose data collection was not transparent.

The straw that seemed to break the camel’s back were the revelations today by popular Queens congressman Ron Kim, who accused Cuomo of threatening over the phone with ruining his reputation after signing a letter with other Democratic lawmakers criticizing the governor. r for not being clear when publishing data on deaths in residences and “intentional obstruction.”

The rebellion against Cuomo, who has defended his management and the importance of using power Executive in a health crisis, is a sample of the precarious situation of governor , since it comes from members of his own party and takes place after more than a decade in office, consolidating itself in state politics, waiting, according to analysts, to give the jump to the national arena.

More information:

Cuomo assumes “information gap”, but insists that deaths in nursing homes in New York is a “political case “; 55% accuse it in the last poll