ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — The governor who in large measure has defined states’ up-and-down fight against the coronavirus, including occasional combat with the White House, is poised to widen his national spotlight.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is expected to take the reins of the National Governors Association on Wednesday during a meeting held virtually because of the disease.
The association represents governors in all 50 states and territories and has emerged from the political shadows since the pandemic erupted in the U.S. The chairman who is handing off to Cuomo, Republican Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland, has pushed the group to put bipartisan pressure on the Trump administration to provide personal protective gear, ventilators, testing kits and budget help to the states. Read More
Cuomo already has brought some governors together to collaborate on issues such as travel restrictions and sent his staff to help other states with testing, tracing and protective gear. The third-term governor could use his new national platform to seek more uniformity among the states in how they are responding to the virus surge, perhaps influencing national policy.
“The common interest of these governors is not a partisan agenda,” said University of Illinois at Chicago political science professor Chris Mooney. “Cuomo as a smart person is not going to raise those issues because he knows they’ll fracture the coalition.”
This article was reposted from Marina Villeneuve: Associated Press