Who is Andrew Cuomo? Here are 4 facts about New York's governor
Find out 4 facts about Andrew Cuomo, governor of New York, including his political background and coronavirus involvement.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been one of the most visible American figures in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic as he coordinates the response of the state that's been hardest hit by the disease.
His daily briefings on the state's coronavirus response became must-see T.V., nearly as important as President Trump's coronavirus task force briefings.
Here's what to know about the governor of the Empire State.
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He comes from a political dynasty
Cuomo was born on Dec. 6, 1957, about 25 years before his father Mario Cuomo served three terms as governor of New York in the 1980s and 1990s.
The governor's brother, Chris, hosts a political program on CNN.
He has been in politics his entire career
Cuomo got his start in politics managing his father's gubernatorial campaigns, according to a 2010 profile by the New York Times, before serving as the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development for the final three years of former President Bill Clinton's administration. He was an assistant secretary in the department earlier in Clinton's time in office.
Cuomo was later elected to be New York's attorney general in 2006.
In 2010, he was elected governor of New York and has been reelected twice after winning primary challenges from Zephyr Teachout in 2014 and actress Cynthia Nixon in 2018.
During his tenure, he has overseen the passage of New York’s law legalizing same-sex marriage; created the United States Climate Alliance, a group of states committed to fighting climate change; passed some of the strictest gun control laws in the U.S.; and passed a new tax code that raises taxes for the wealthy and lowered taxes for the middle class.
He's not running for president
Cuomo, who is currently serving his third term as New York's Governor, has made clear that he is running for reelection in 2022.
There were grumblings that the Democratic Party might try to replace its front-runner for its presidential nomination, Joe Biden, with Cuomo as he earned widespread praise for his leadership in New York during the coronavirus crisis. Cuomo dismissed those rumors in one of his March coronavirus press conferences.
"As far as the president’s comment about having a political contest with me, I am not engaging the president in politics," Cuomo said in a press conference, responding to comments from President Trump. "My only goal is to engage the president in partnership. This is no time for politics. Lead by example. I am not going to get into a political dispute with the president. I’m not going to rise to the bait of a political challenge.”
He added: “I’m not running for president. I was never running for president. I said from day one I wasn’t running for president. I’m not running for president now. I’m not playing politics.”
New York does not have term limits for governors, meaning that Cuomo can remain in his current job as long as New Yorkers keep voting for him.
His bother tested positive for the coronavirus
Chris Cuomo, who is younger than Andrew, tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, and was experiencing severe symptoms.
Broadcasting from his home in late March, the junior Cuomo brother said he was most concerned about who he may have infected with the coronavirus before initially testing positive.
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"My concern is what I may have put upon my family just like you would," he said. "That is hurting me more than anything the virus can do."
The CNN host also said that he had even chipped a tooth from how badly he was shivering due to the virus.
Fox News' Joseph A. Wulfsohn and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
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