The governor once again defied calls to resign, including from President Biden. But his future remains in doubt.
For years he was the savvy political operator, rising through his party’s ranks on the strength of shrewd instincts, careful calculations and a famous last name. Then he was the domineering chief executive with a flourishing national brand and an iron grip on power in New York. Now, he is alone. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, whose meticulously managed public appearances during the pandemic turned him into one of his party’s most celebrated national figures, is confronting an existential threat to his political career following a searing report released Tuesday that said he had sexually harassed 11 women and violated federal and state law. Over the span of just a few hours, an already-diminished governor lost the support of a cascade of allies and state and national party leaders who had been withholding judgment, throwing his ability to remain in office — much less win a fourth term — into doubt. It is not yet clear how the public will react to the investigation released by the New York State attorney general’s office. Unless Mr. Cuomo resigns, the most immediate consequences of that report will be determined in large part by the State Assembly, which has opened an impeachment inquiry and where, Speaker Carl E. Heastie said, “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.” Events could move swiftly: A person familiar with the process said it could take just a month to complete the inquiry and draw up the articles of impeachment. A trial in the State Senate could begin as soon as late September or early October. In the meantime, it is plain that Mr. Cuomo, stripped of his usual abilities to cajole, browbeat or intimidate fellow politicians, and abandoned by supporters in New York and Washington, has reached the most vulnerable moment of his decades in public life — a moment that is poised to reshape the landscape of political power in New York. Lawmakers who had previously been fearful of publicly criticizing Mr. Cuomo, aware of his capacity for retribution, are now calling for his resignation. Elected officials who represent core Cuomo constituencies — including Black voters and white suburban voters — have increasingly urged him to step aside. Eric Adams, the Democratic mayoral nominee whom Mr. Cuomo was eager to embrace earlier this summer, encouraged the Assembly to “move forward with impeachment proceedings if the governor will not resign,” and top labor leaders are increasingly breaking with the governor. Most significantly, President Biden — a longtime friend of Mr. Cuomo’s — and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has long been close with the Cuomo family, for the first time on Tuesday urged him to step aside. Still, Mr. Cuomo appeared determined to construct a counternarrative that elided key discoveries in the attorney general’s investigation and played down or outright dismissed other allegations. In an extraordinary on-camera appearance on Tuesday, Mr.
