Question time for Cuomo

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Jun 11, 2024 View in browser   By Nick Reisman and Emily Ngo With help from Rich Mendez Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo will face questions from the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic today. | Seth Wenig/AP Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo may be on the road to a political comeback. A Republican-led House panel on the pandemic could block the path. The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic will question the Democrat behind closed doors today on the decisions his administration made at the onset of 2020. Topping the list will be the controversial order that New York nursing homes welcome Covid-positive patients. “He’ll be arrogant, he’ll be his usual arrogant and smug self,” Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, a Staten Island Republican who sits on the panel, told Playbook. “A tough New Yorker — that’s what you can expect from him.” The meeting in Washington comes as Cuomo in recent weeks has again stoked the speculation he wants to run for office following his 2021 resignation amid allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct. He’s spoken at Black churches to opine on the state of New York City, angering the Adams administration along the way. Team Cuomo has insisted the former governor simply is speaking up on matters he cares about — and would never challenge the mayor head-on in a Democratic primary. The Covid panel’s questioning of Cuomo today will have very little political upside for him as Republicans plan to jog voters’ memories of the controversies that erupted during his final year in office — including the origins of his lucrative book deal about the pandemic. “Appearing before the committee will remind New Yorkers how Andrew Cuomo made arbitrary decisions that destroyed livelihoods and businesses, created a tremendous amount of anxiety and emotional health issues with our youth and led to thousands of our senior citizens being killed in nursing homes,” Malliotakis said. Cuomo’s allies have long asserted the criticism of his pandemic policies has been politically motivated, fueled by both Republicans and left-leaning Democrats who never warmed to the centrist former governor. “Every member of this administration from the governor on down worked hard to save lives and keep people safe with constantly shifting facts from the ‘experts,’ personal protective equipment and medical equipment shortages and no national strategy,” Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi said in response to Malliotakis. “By the way, I wonder how her presidential candidate’s probation officer meeting went today.” Cuomo’s defense will likely center around his insistence that the state’s nursing home order aligned with federal guidance of that time. (Critics have contended the language from the state Department of Health was vaguely worded.) “The Department of Justice has looked at this issue three times, as have the Manhattan District Attorney, the Attorney General and the New York State Assembly, all determining that the actual facts and evidence did not support any claim of wrongdoing, and no MAGA farce of a congressional hearing is going to change that,” Azzopardi said. Republicans deny politics is at play. “We care about the people who lost lives,” said Rep. Marc Molinaro, who challenged Cuomo in the 2018 gubernatorial election. “Even if this was just a structure fire you would conduct a thorough after-action analysis.” — Nick Reisman HAPPY TUESDAY. Got news? Send it our way: Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman.   THE GOLD STANDARD OF POLICY REPORTING & INTELLIGENCE: POLITICO has more than 500 journalists delivering unrivaled reporting and illuminating the policy and regulatory landscape for those who need to know what’s next. Throughout the election and the legislative and regulatory pushes that will follow, POLITICO Pro is indispensable to those who need to make informed decisions fast. The Pro platform dives deeper into critical and quickly evolving sectors and industries—finance, defense, technology, healthcare, energy—equipping policymakers and those who shape legislation and regulation with essential news and intelligence from the world’s best politics and policy journalists. Our newsroom is deeper, more experienced, and better sourced than any other—with teams embedded in the world’s most active legislative and regulatory power centers. From Brussels to Washington, New York to London, Sacramento to Paris, we bring subscribers inside the conversations that determine policy outcomes and the future of industries, providing insight that cannot be found anywhere else. Get the premier news and policy intelligence service, SUBSCRIBE TO POLITICO PRO TODAY.     WHERE’S KATHY? In New York City and Albany with no public schedule. WHERE’S ERIC? Hosting a live-streamed press conference and then participating in the Partnership for New York City's business leaders town hall. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “To assume that the only funding source had to be congestion pricing shows a lack of imagination about understanding other opportunities to fund these projects.” — Gov. Kathy Hochul on finding new forms of revenue to aid the MTA’s capital plan. ABOVE THE FOLD Rep. Jamaal Bowman faced off against challenger George Latimer during a heated forum Monday night. | News 12 NY-16 CLASH: House challenger George Latimer repeatedly charged Rep. Jamaal Bowman with lying out of desperation and Bowman accused Latimer of racial discrimination during a heated forum Monday night that illustrated just how nasty their high-stakes primary has become. “A thug,” Bowman said at the League of Women Voters of Westchester County event, referencing a label the Black House member has said was assigned to him by a Latimer supporter who the white Westchester County executive failed to chastise. “A thug, like Tupac said, is the hate you gave. So if we’re talking about the hate you gave to Black Americans through your concentrated poverty and enslavement and Jim Crow, then I guess I’m a dog, too.” Latimer said he’s never called anyone a thug, said Bowman “makes stuff up” and cited a record of helping Black and Latino business owners. Bowman gave no further context for why he invoked the eras of slavery and legalized racism against Latimer. Then, in highlighting how Bowman gets most of his donations from outside the district, Latimer said, “Your constituency is Dearborn, Michigan. Your constituency is San Francisco, California.” The Arab-majority city in the Midwest, which AIPAC-backed Latimer has mentioned in the same context on Facebook, has been instrumental in condemning U.S. funding for Israel amid the war in Gaza. At another point in the forum, Latimer said, “Jamaal, you have to pull the truth alarm now. Enough of this” after Bowman called him “a multimillionaire funded by billionaires, many Republican billionaires.” Latimer rebutted that he gets only $161,000 in compensation as Westchester County executive, though his House financial disclosure forms show a fuller picture of his family’s wealth and AIPAC, the influential pro-Israel lobby supporting Latimer, does have GOP donors. And “truth alarm,” of course, was a reference to Bowman pulling a congressional fire alarm last year when there was no emergency. — Emily Ngo NEW FROM PLANET ALBANY Hochul faces pressure to sign a bill that would allow local governments to collect occupancy taxes on short-term rentals. | Mike Groll/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul RENTAL GUIDANCE: Local governments are one step closer to collecting occupancy taxes on short-term rentals under a bill approved late last week. And now two state lawmakers are urging Hochul to sign it into law. The measure given the green light by the Legislature in the final hours of the legislative session last week would create a registry of short-term rentals in the state (think getaways booked online through sites like Airbnb). In turn, local governments would be able to use that list to collect occupancy taxes from the rentals. Supporters contend the measure is meant to address what has become a growing problem for upstate communities struggling with skyrocketing housing costs. Lawmakers also point to the $550 million in revenue that could have been scooped up by local governments over the last five years had the tax been collected. But will Hochul sign it? She hasn’t publicly weighed in on the bill. While she’s been leery of expanding the tax burden in New York, Hochul has also been eager to address housing concerns statewide. Both issues are colliding with this bill. — Nick Reisman More from Albany: — Hochul continued to take heat over her decision to walk away from congestion pricing. (Gothamist) — Experts say enforcement tools and data collection are falling short when it comes to addressing cannabis consumption and driving. (Newsday) CITY HALL: THE LATEST Mayor Eric Adams pivoted away from reporter questions about a recent subpoena tied to the federal probe into his campaign finances. | Benny Polatseck/Mayoral Photography Office NOT HIS PREFERRED TOPIC: Reporters at Mayor Eric Adams’ news conference Monday about plans for an offshore wind port wanted answers about a grand jury and subpoena of an aide relating to the federal probe into his 2021 campaign finances. He wanted none of it. “You see the New York press? You see what it is to be the mayor of the city?” The mayor asked his colleagues as a means of redirection. “Try this: Stay focused, no distractions and grind. You want that first question asked or you were just duping just to get the second one?” Adams had waived off reporters over the weekend, too, saying he had “no idea” about developments in the investigation. The mayor’s press office seeks to limit off-topic questions to once a week, with most of his deputies flanking him. That wide-ranging news conference set for today is the first such opportunity since the Daily News and the New York Post reported that a grand jury is considering evidence in the probe into whether Adams’ campaign colluded with the Turkish government. Adams has not been accused of wrongdoing. — Emily Ngo More from the city: — One of the members of Adams’ Charter Revision Commission maintains a New Jersey residence, raising concern about whether he’s legally permitted to serve on the panel. (Daily News) — A City Council proposal that would change the way landlords and tenants pay real estate broker fees will be up for debate at a committee hearing on Wednesday. (Gothamist) — Eight non-House primary races to watch in New York City this month. (THE CITY)   JOIN US ON 6/13 FOR A TALK ON THE FUTURE OF HEALTH CARE: As Congress and the White House work to strengthen health care affordability and access, innovative technologies and treatments are increasingly important for patient health and lower costs. What barriers are appearing as new tech emerges? Is the Medicare payment process keeping up with new technologies and procedures? Join us on June 13 as POLITICO convenes a panel of lawmakers, officials and experts to discuss what policy solutions could expand access to innovative therapies and tech. REGISTER HERE.     NEW YORK STATE OF MIND — Rep. Ritchie Torres says the progressive movement left him, not the other way around. (City & State) — City public defenders say the “special arrangements” that former President Donald Trump got in his pre-sentencing interview should be afforded to lower-income New Yorkers, too. (AP) — The labor union that defied the odds to organize workers at a Staten Island Amazon warehouse is moving to affiliate with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. (THE CITY) SOCIAL DATA Edited by Daniel Lippman MAKING MOVES: Law firm Polsinelli has expanded its real-estate practice with Vasiliki Yiannoulis-Riva as a shareholder. … Sandi F. Dubin has joined as a member of the labor and employment department of Cozen O’Connor. She most recently was a shareholder at Ogletree Deakins. … Abraham J. Kwon has joined as a partner in the emerging companies and venture capital practice group of Lowenstein Sandler. He most recently was a partner at Goodwin and is a Cooley, Blank Rome and Willkie Farr and Gallagher. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Greta Van Susteren … former Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) (94) … Will Rahn of PBS’ “Firing Line with Margaret Hoover” … Wendy Teramoto … CNN’s Morgan Rimmer … Ashley Mocarski … Juliette Medina … Bob Brockmann … (WAS MONDAY): Meredith Carden … Dovid Efune ... Rabbi Daniel Kraus Missed Monday’s New York Playbook PM? We forgive you. Read it here.   Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook  |  Playbook PM  |  California Playbook  |  Florida Playbook  |  Illinois Playbook  |  Massachusetts Playbook  |  New Jersey Playbook  |  New York Playbook  |  Ottawa Playbook  |  Brussels Playbook  |  London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters Follow us

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