Andrew Cuomo

Andrew Cuomo
Born	Andrew Mark Cuomo 12/6/1957
Birthplace	New York City, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Lawyer, politician
Known for	56th Governor of New York, U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
Education	Juris Doctor
Children	3
Awards	International Emmy Founders Award (2020)

Andrew Mark Cuomo (born December 6, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 56th governor of New York from January 2011 until his resignation in August 2021. A member of the Democratic Party and a son of former New York governor Mario Cuomo, he held prominent roles in public life for nearly four decades, including service as the 11th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President Bill Clinton and as the 64th attorney general of New York. As governor, Cuomo signed landmark legislation legalizing same-sex marriage, enacted some of the nation's strictest gun control measures, and oversaw major infrastructure projects. His tenure was marked by both significant policy achievements and deep controversy, particularly surrounding his administration's handling of COVID-19 nursing home deaths and multiple allegations of sexual misconduct that ultimately led to his resignation. In 2025, Cuomo attempted a political comeback by running as an independent candidate for mayor of New York City, but was defeated in the general election, effectively ending his political career.

Early Life

Andrew Mark Cuomo was born on December 6, 1957, in New York City and was raised in the borough of Queens. He is the son of Mario Cuomo, who served as the 52nd governor of New York from 1983 to 1994, and Matilda Cuomo, a noted advocate for children's causes. Andrew grew up in a politically engaged Italian-American household in the Holliswood neighborhood of Queens, where politics and public service were central to family life. His brother, Chris Cuomo, later became a television journalist and anchor.

The Cuomo family occupied a prominent place in New York Democratic politics. Mario Cuomo's political career deeply influenced Andrew's own trajectory. Andrew served as his father's campaign manager during the 1982 New York gubernatorial election, an experience that provided him with an early and intensive education in political organizing and strategy at the age of twenty-four. The elder Cuomo won that election and went on to serve three terms as governor, and Andrew's role in the campaign established him as a figure in New York politics in his own right.

During the late 1980s and early 1990s, Cuomo became involved in housing and homelessness issues in New York City. He founded Housing Enterprise for the Less Privileged (HELP), a nonprofit organization aimed at building transitional housing for homeless families. This work drew attention to his policy interests and organizational abilities. From 1990 to 1993, Cuomo chaired the New York City Homeless Commission, where he focused on developing solutions to the city's homelessness crisis.

Education

Cuomo attended Fordham University in the Bronx, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. He subsequently enrolled at Albany Law School, where he obtained his Juris Doctor degree. After completing his legal education, Cuomo entered the private practice of law in New York, though his career quickly shifted toward public service and political engagement. His legal training would underpin his later roles as attorney general and governor, where statutory and regulatory expertise proved essential.

Career

Early Career and HUD

Following his work on his father's gubernatorial campaign and his involvement in homelessness advocacy, Cuomo was appointed to a position in the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under President Bill Clinton. He initially served as assistant secretary for Community Planning and Development from May 28, 1993, to January 29, 1997. In this role, he oversaw federal programs related to community development and homelessness prevention.

In 1997, Clinton nominated Cuomo to succeed Henry Cisneros as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and he was confirmed by the Senate. Cuomo served as the 11th HUD Secretary from January 29, 1997, to January 20, 2001. During his tenure, he pursued an aggressive agenda to expand homeownership, particularly among minority and low-income communities. He pushed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to increase their commitments to affordable housing lending. This approach later drew scrutiny; a 2008 investigation by the Village Voice argued that Cuomo's policies at HUD contributed to the conditions that led to the subprime mortgage crisis and the subsequent collapse of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

2002 Gubernatorial Campaign

After leaving HUD, Cuomo sought the Democratic nomination in the 2002 New York gubernatorial election. He entered the race as a prominent contender but faced stiff competition from state comptroller H. Carl McCall. The campaign proved difficult; Cuomo struggled to consolidate support within the party and faced criticism over his campaign style and messaging. He ultimately withdrew from the race before the Democratic primary, conceding the nomination to McCall. The failed bid represented a significant setback in Cuomo's political career and led to a period of relative political absence.

Attorney General of New York

Cuomo reemerged on the political scene in 2006, when he ran for and was elected as the 64th attorney general of New York, succeeding Eliot Spitzer, who had been elected governor. He served as attorney general from January 1, 2007, to December 31, 2010, under governors Spitzer and later David Paterson.

As attorney general, Cuomo pursued investigations into a range of issues. He launched probes into student lending practices, uncovering conflicts of interest between universities and lending companies. He also investigated data breaches and cybersecurity issues affecting consumers. His tenure as attorney general helped rehabilitate his political standing and positioned him for another run at the governorship.

Governor of New York

Election and Re-elections

Cuomo won the 2010 New York gubernatorial election with over 60 percent of the vote, succeeding David Paterson, who had decided not to seek a full term. He took office on January 1, 2011. He was subsequently re-elected in 2014 and again in 2018, each time securing comfortable margins of victory.

Upon taking office, Cuomo emphasized government reform and fiscal discipline. He pushed for ethics reform in Albany and pledged to address what he characterized as dysfunction in state government.

Legislative Achievements

Cuomo's governorship was marked by the passage of several high-profile pieces of legislation. In 2011, he signed the Marriage Equality Act, making New York one of the largest states at that time to legalize same-sex marriage. The legislation was considered a significant milestone for LGBTQ rights in the United States and required Cuomo to broker a bipartisan coalition in the Republican-controlled state senate to secure its passage.

In response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, and a separate shooting in Webster, New York, in December 2012, Cuomo signed the Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act (NY SAFE Act) into law in January 2013. The law was described as the strictest gun control legislation in the United States at the time, imposing new restrictions on assault weapons, expanding background checks, and enhancing penalties for gun-related offenses.

Cuomo also delivered on several economic and social policy initiatives. He signed legislation implementing a gradual increase in the state's minimum wage to $15 per hour and enacted a 12-week paid family leave law. His administration implemented Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act. In 2011, he signed a tax law that raised taxes on high-income earners while lowering taxes for middle-class residents. Later in his tenure, he signed legislation legalizing the recreational use of cannabis in New York.

Infrastructure Projects

Cuomo oversaw a number of major infrastructure projects during his time as governor. His administration managed the construction of the Second Avenue Subway on Manhattan's Upper East Side, the opening of the Moynihan Train Hall at Penn Station, and the reconstruction of the Tappan Zee Bridge, which was replaced with a new span renamed the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge in honor of his father. The administration also oversaw the reconstruction and modernization of LaGuardia Airport.

Cuomo also ordered the decommissioning of the Indian Point nuclear power plant, located north of New York City. Environmental groups had long sought the plant's closure, but energy analysts noted that shutting down the facility led to an uptick in greenhouse gas emissions, as the lost generating capacity was partially replaced by fossil fuel sources.

COVID-19 Pandemic Response

In early 2020, New York became one of the first major epicenters of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Cuomo's daily televised briefings during the initial months of the crisis drew national and international attention, and he was initially praised for his communication style and crisis management. He received an International Emmy Founders Award in November 2020 for his use of television during the pandemic briefings.

However, Cuomo's administration faced substantial criticism and investigation related to its handling of nursing homes during the pandemic. A March 25, 2020, directive from the New York State Department of Health ordered nursing homes to accept patients discharged from hospitals without requiring them to be tested for COVID-19. This order was blamed for contributing to a significant number of deaths among nursing home residents. A January 2021 report by New York State Attorney General Letitia James found that the Cuomo administration had undercounted COVID-19-related deaths at nursing homes by as much as 50 percent.

The administration's subsequent actions drew further scrutiny. Federal investigators opened a probe into the matter, and as of 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice maintained an open investigation into Cuomo's testimony regarding his involvement with a report that was used to counter criticism of his pandemic response. The nursing home controversy severely damaged Cuomo's public standing and became intertwined with the sexual misconduct allegations that would soon follow.

Pension Reform

During his governorship, Cuomo also enacted changes to the state's public employee pension system. He signed legislation creating Tier 6, a new pension tier for public employees hired after April 1, 2012, which reduced pension benefits and increased employee contributions compared to prior tiers. The reform was framed as a fiscal measure to reduce the state's long-term pension costs. As of 2026, public employee unions continued to push for changes to the Tier 6 structure, arguing it was overly restrictive for government workers.

Sexual Misconduct Allegations and Resignation

Beginning in late 2020, multiple women came forward with allegations of sexual misconduct against Cuomo. The allegations ranged from unwanted touching and kissing to inappropriate comments and behavior. In response, Attorney General Letitia James commissioned an independent investigation led by outside lawyers. The investigation's report, released in August 2021, concluded that Cuomo had sexually harassed multiple women, including current and former state employees, and that his administration had retaliated against at least one accuser. The report detailed accounts from eleven women.

Facing impeachment proceedings in the New York State Assembly and mounting pressure from fellow Democrats—including President Joe Biden—to resign, Cuomo announced his resignation on August 10, 2021. His resignation took effect on August 23, 2021, and Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul succeeded him as governor. Cuomo denied the most serious allegations and characterized some of the interactions described in the report differently from the accusers. He did not face criminal charges related to the allegations, though several local prosecutors reviewed the cases.

As of late 2025, New York taxpayers had expended significant sums to defend Cuomo and the state police from sexual harassment lawsuits stemming from the allegations. An additional $1.3 million was spent on legal defense costs between late May and December 2025.

2025 New York City Mayoral Race

In 2025, Cuomo attempted a political comeback by entering the race for mayor of New York City as an independent candidate. The campaign represented a departure from his career within the Democratic Party. Former President Donald Trump publicly endorsed Cuomo's candidacy and threatened to cut federal funding to New York City if his opponent, Zohran Mamdani, a left-wing state legislator, won the race.

Despite the endorsement, opinion polls leading into the November 2025 general election showed Mamdani ahead. Cuomo lost the election, and the defeat was characterized by political observers as the definitive end of his political career. Politico reported that his career was "ending where it began — with a failed mayoral race," noting that nearly fifty years earlier, his father Mario Cuomo had also lost a New York City mayoral campaign.

Post-Gubernatorial Legacy in State Government

Following Cuomo's resignation, his successor Kathy Hochul gradually moved to distance herself from his governance record. By 2026, Hochul was actively scaling back some of Cuomo's final acts in office, seeking to establish an independent governing identity.

Personal Life

Cuomo was married to Kerry Kennedy, a daughter of Robert F. Kennedy, from 1990 to 2005. The couple had three daughters together. Their marriage ended in divorce.

After his divorce, Cuomo was in a long-term relationship with television personality Sandra Lee from 2005 to 2019. Lee, a celebrity chef and television host, lived with Cuomo during much of his time as governor. The couple's separation was publicly announced in 2019.

Cuomo is the eldest son of Mario Cuomo and Matilda Cuomo. His brother, Chris Cuomo, worked as a journalist and television news anchor, most notably at CNN, before his own departure from the network in 2021. The Cuomo family has been a fixture in New York political life for decades, with Mario Cuomo's legacy as a liberal Democratic governor shaping the political environment in which Andrew built his career.

Recognition

Cuomo received an International Emmy Founders Award in November 2020 in recognition of his daily televised briefings during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time, the award cited his use of television to inform and calm the public during the crisis. However, the honor became controversial as the nursing home scandal and sexual misconduct allegations subsequently emerged, and Cuomo returned the award in 2021.

During his governorship, Cuomo oversaw the renaming of the replacement for the Tappan Zee Bridge as the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge, in honor of his late father. The naming decision drew both praise from supporters of the Cuomo legacy and criticism from those who felt the bridge should have retained its original name or been named through a more public process.

Cuomo's early work on housing and homelessness through the HELP organization received recognition in the field of social services and contributed to his appointment to HUD in the 1990s.

Legacy

Andrew Cuomo's political legacy is marked by substantial contradictions. His legislative record as governor includes achievements that reshaped New York's social policy landscape, including the legalization of same-sex marriage in 2011—years before the U.S. Supreme Court's nationwide ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges—the enactment of the NY SAFE Act, and the expansion of economic protections for workers through minimum wage increases and paid family leave. His infrastructure initiatives resulted in tangible improvements to New York's transportation network.

At the same time, Cuomo's legacy is indelibly associated with the controversies that ended his governorship. The nursing home directive during the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent undercounting of deaths remain subjects of ongoing investigation and public debate. The sexual misconduct allegations and the findings of the attorney general's independent investigation led to his resignation under the threat of impeachment, making him one of the most prominent American governors to leave office under such circumstances.

His 2025 mayoral campaign, run as an independent with the endorsement of Donald Trump, represented an unusual final chapter for a lifelong Democrat. The campaign's failure confirmed the difficulty of a political rehabilitation after the circumstances of his resignation. Politico described the conclusion of his career as "operatic," drawing parallels to his father's own mayoral defeat decades earlier.

The ongoing legal costs associated with defending against sexual harassment lawsuits—borne by New York taxpayers—remain a continuing element of Cuomo's post-gubernatorial record.