Cuomo's national strategy

Politico

2 days ago

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With help from Cris Seda Chabrier
Andrew Cuomo hasn't won the New York City mayor's race yet, but he's already planning a national campaign to take on President Donald Trump — whose Department of Justice is reportedly investigating him, POLITICO reports today.
In a wide-ranging interview, the New York City mayoral frontrunner said he plans to campaign against Trump's proposed Medicaid cuts to help Democrats in swing House districts across the country — a political strategy he says could help his party retake the House. Cuomo pointed to the tactic when asked how he'd handle working with the president while potentially under criminal investigation.
'I would spend eight years in Washington — go to that U.S. Conference of Mayors, go to the National Governors Association,' he said. 'He's cutting Medicaid. Medicaid is not a blue-city, blue-state situation. That is in every state. That is a lot of red Congressional districts. And he could lose the House on cutting Medicaid if you organized it and got it moving.'
'You're going to have to be a spokesperson, advocate, organizer,' he added. 'This is what Medicaid means in Mississippi, this is what Medicaid means in Texas. … And you organize that, they don't have a lot of Congressional seats left to lose.'
He was answering a question about what leverage he would have as a New York City mayor — a position that relies heavily on the federal government for funding — in dealing with a presidential administration that is reportedly probing him in what he described as a 'laughable' investigation.
The Department of Justice probe into Cuomo, reported by the New York Times two weeks ago, followed a criminal referral from House Republicans that alleged Cuomo lied during testimony to Congress about his gubernatorial administration's report on nursing home deaths during Covid.
Cuomo used — and critics say abused — the powers he was granted as a three-term New York governor. He acknowledged that a mayor has relatively little authority compared to a president — making a zero with his fingers to illustrate the imbalance between the two roles. He said he would fill that absence of structural power with political organizing, should the Republican president punish him or the city he seeks to lead.
In the interview, Cuomo said any Democratic mayor is vulnerable to Trump's attacks.
'Assume any person who becomes mayor will be investigated. Just assume that. If they oppose Trump, he will investigate them for leverage,' he said, calling it 'the price of admission.' He added that he believes he's been targeted because Trump is most afraid of tangling with him.
White House spokesperson Kush Desai said in response to Cuomo's comments about the probe and his national plans, 'The last time Andrew Cuomo had a say in health care, thousands of New York's most vulnerable perished in nursing homes due to Cuomo's blatant incompetence and disregard for science. Cuomo is not the white knight that Democrats are looking for to stop Republicans' commonsense effort to protect Medicaid by taking illegal immigrants off the program.'
Read more from Cuomo's interview with POLITICO's Sally Goldenberg.
IT'S TUESDAY: Got news? Send it our way: Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman.
WHERE'S KATHY? In New York City with no public schedule.
WHERE'S ERIC? In New York City, making a public safety-related announcement and holding an in-person media availability, speaking at a ceremony for Puerto Rico, at the Coptic American Law Enforcement Organization's Annual Scholarship Awards Ceremony, hosting a reception for LGBTQ+ pride month, and delivering remarks at the Neighborhood Technical Assistance Clinic's Annual Gala.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: 'Our Empire bins are striking back at rats and garbage in West Harlem.' — Mayor Eric Adams, in a somewhat confusing homage to Darth Vader while announcing the expansion of larger trash bins that can be picked up by trucks.
ABOVE THE FOLD
GOING FOR THE BOSS' JOB: Gov. Kathy Hochul's No. 2 — Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado — has long had designs on her job and plans to launch his long-shot bid to unseat her today.
Delgado previewed the announcement in a video released Monday that includes images of him in New York City speaking with people and calling for 'universal health care' and 'universal pre-K.'
He also pledged to fight 'the Trump administration's attacks' on deep blue New York.
'The powerful and well connected have their champions,' he said in the video. 'I'm running for governor to be yours.'
The Hudson Valley Democrat has been reaching out to Black elected officials to make his pitch, including leaders in Harlem and Brooklyn, four people familiar with his plans told POLITICO. One Democrat said Delgado is presenting Hochul as a weak top-of-the-ticket candidate who would hurt down-ballot contenders.
A Hochul campaign spokesperson declined to comment.
The Democratic Governors Association in a statement praised Hochul's record and pledged to support her, saying she is building 'the operation it will take to beat Republicans up and down the ballot in 2026.'
Delgado is formalizing his campaign for governor four months after declining to endorse Hochul's reelection bid. But he snubbed her well before then, breaking with her last year by calling for President Joe Biden and Adams to step down.
Delgado's launch was first reported by the New York Post and the New York Times.
Read how the 2026 race is shaping up via POLITICO's Nick Reisman and Emily Ngo.
CITY HALL: THE LATEST
CUOMO'S BIO AD: Cuomo will release a positive campaign ad today that seeks to reintroduce him to voters — a contrast to some of the doom-and-gloom messaging of his candidacy, POLITICO reports this morning.
'Rise,' the third ad of his campaign but the first where he speaks directly to the camera, is a six-figure buy across streaming television and digital platforms. It comes three weeks from Primary Day, in a tightening race in which his rivals are clamoring to define the three-term governor — who resigned in disgrace four years ago — by his controversies and scandals.
'New York City has an affordability crisis, but we will rise,' Cuomo says in the 30-second spot, standing in his shirtsleeves on a Brooklyn street corner. The candidate promises to push for a higher minimum wage, as he did as governor, and build 500,000 affordable homes, referencing his tenure as U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. — Emily Ngo
TILSON ATTACKS: Investor Whitney Tilson doesn't have a shot at winning the mayoral primary — but he's trying to take down Zohran Mamdani with him. First in Playbook, Tilson is spending more than $100,000 promoting a 30-second digital ad tying the democratic socialist lawmaker to antisemitism and defunding the police.
'The socialists are at the gate, and Zohran Mamdani is leading the pack,' a narrator says over video of violent protests. 'If they take over New York City, this is what they said they would do: Defund the police. Consequences for genocidal Zionist imperialism. Abolish capitalism.'
It's just the first in a series of negative spots, a Tilson campaign spokesperson said. The Democrat has money to spend after getting more than $2 million in matching funds.
'It's unsurprising that a hedge fund executive running a flatlining campaign would resort to sad, desperate lies as his irrelevance becomes clear,' Mamdani campaign spokesperson Andrew Epstein said about the ad.. 'Zohran is proud of our relentless focus on lowering costs and delivering safety for all New Yorkers.' — Jeff Coltin
CUO-MONEY: The New York Post has been tough on Cuomo — but at least one member of the family that owns the paper seems to like him. Kathryn Murdoch, the wife of News Corp founder Rupert Murdoch's younger son James, donated $100,000 to pro-Cuomo super PAC Fix the City, according to campaign filings released Monday night.
Fix the City reported more than $835,000 in contributions last week and has raised $10.8 million total since March. This week the Working Families Party's super PAC also reported its first donations of the the year, totaling $8,000. The largest contribution came from 'The Gilded Age' actor Morgan Spector. — Jeff Coltin
WHAT ABOUT MAYOR, THOUGH??: Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez endorsed Public Advocate Jumaane Williams for reelection Monday, as did Reps. Yvette Clarke and Nydia Velázquez.
Lining up behind the incumbent who's facing a spirited challenge from Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar is no surprise, but will get mayoral race watchers anxious to see if, when and how AOC will endorse in the mayoral race.
Mamdani is a heavy favorite for her support, especially after earning the number one ranked endorsement from the Working Families Party. An Ocasio-Cortez spokesperson did not immediately respond when asked about her plans. — Jeff Coltin
DEBATE WEEK: Cuomo will be smack dab in the middle of the nine candidates on stage Wednesday night after positioning was set for the first official debate of the first official debate of the Democratic primary.
POLITICO is proud to be co-hosting with WNBC and Telemundo for the live debate airing on TV and online at 7 p.m. The spots were randomly selected, but center stage makes sense for the ex-governor — who has skipped every previous forum where candidates appeared side-by-side. — Jeff Coltin
More from the city:
— Adams' administration filed an amicus brief in support of a Bronx high schooler detained by ICE following a routine court appearance. (POLITICO Pro)
— Cuomo pledged to move mentally ill from Rikers and move homeless people out of subway cars and stations every night. (am New York)
— The Trump slump in tourism has hotel owners and labor unions pleading for a reduction in the city's hotel occupancy tax. (Daily News)
NEW FROM PLANET ALBANY
FRIENDS OF HOCHUL: Democrats circled the wagons around Hochul soon after Delgado announced he was challenging her in next year's primary.
House battleground Democrats Pat Ryan and Tom Suozzi — her 2022 foe — all signaled their support for her, as did Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
Closer to home is the backing of Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, a key legislative ally for the governor who is also the de facto leader of the Bronx Dems.
In a statement to Playbook, the speaker said Democrats need to be united on protecting New Yorkers from 'Donald Trump and his minions.'
'Anyone has a right to run for public office, but what is most important and what our party should be working together towards is pushing back against the serious harm New York is facing from Republicans in Washington and the seven Republican members of Congress from our state who refuse to fight for us,' Heastie said. 'Gov. Hochul has been a strong partner working with me on behalf of all New Yorkers.' — Nick Reisman
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: State Sen. James Skoufis will sit on the Democratic National Committee's top governing body, his spokesperson tells Playbook.
He will sit on the executive committee alongside prominent Democratic leaders nominated for the panel, including the president of NARAL and national union leaders.
The 37-year-old state lawmaker ran for DNC chair last year, pitching himself as a Democrat who can win in Trump-friendly territory. He was previously appointed to a DNC at-large member role by DNC Chair Ken Martin. — Nick Reisman
THAT'S THE TICKET: Back at the state Capitol, Skoufis' end-of-session push to expand ticket scalping regulations is facing more pushback.
A centrist think tank on Tuesday released a letter opposing the measure that would prohibit secondary ticket markets from selling entertainment tickets higher than face value.
'These bills fail to address the root causes of dysfunction in ticketing, namely Live Nation-Ticketmaster's control over the primary ticketing market through, among other tools, exclusive contracts with venues,' said Diana Moss, the group's vice president and director of competition policy. 'Instead, they target the far more competitive resale market, effectively knee-capping the only meaningful competition the monopoly faces. That's bad policy that ignores fundamental economics.'
Skoufis sponsors the bill alongside Assemblymember Ron Kim.
'No surprise here as PPI has traveled the country defending scalpers against pro-fan state legislation,' Skoufis said in a statement to Playbook. 'The simple fact is resale websites do not offer any competition to Ticketmaster — Ticketmaster has already sold the ticket and made their money by the time that same ticket has made its way to a scalping website. Ticketmaster hates the fee cap, holdback disclosure, and other elements of this bill and scalpers' attempt to deploy them as a boogeyman so they can continue ripping off fans is as transparent as it is lame.'
It's not clear if the bill will gain votes in either chamber before the legislative session ends this month. — Nick Reisman
More from Albany:
— New York lawmakers are pressing for more judges on the bench — but judges themselves are opposed. (Gothamist)
— Kaleida Health and the University at Buffalo had large discrepancies when reporting the amount of money they spent lobbying. (Buffalo News)
— The Legislature is pushing for guardrails for the 340B program. (POLITICO Pro)
KEEPING UP WITH THE DELEGATION
STATES' ACA WARNING: Private insurers and state officials are warning of utter chaos in the insurance markets if a last-minute change to the House GOP's megabill survives in the Senate, POLITICO reports.
The policy could lead to higher premiums for people who shop for plans on the Obamacare exchanges and cause massive turmoil for actuaries, and leave brokers and state officials with little time between when the law is enacted and the start of open enrollment in the fall to understand the many ways the change affects Affordable Care Act plans.
Under the bill, which the House passed recently, certain federal payments to insurers that Trump canceled during his first term would resume next year, but only if plans refuse to cover abortions, which they are obligated to cover in 12 states and the District of Columbia. — Robert King
More from Congress:
— An ideologically diverse clutch of Senate Republicans have found rare alignment — and significant power in the megabill negotiations. (POLITICO)
— Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is coordinating with House Democrats to challenge the president's 'big, beautiful bill.' (Fox News)
— Former Rep. Charles Rangel, who died last week at age 94, in his own words. (City & State)
NEW YORK STATE OF MIND
— A luxury resort is being planned for the pristine Whitney Park in the Adirondacks. (Times Union)
— The other hot mayoral primary? It's happening in Buffalo. (POLITICO Pro)
— Rochester is fighting the DOJ's lawsuit over its sanctuary city policy. (Spectrum News)
SOCIAL DATA
MAKING MOVES: Jill Kelley has joined Hogan Lovells' Corporate & Finance practice as partner. Kelly was previously general counsel and vice president of legal affairs for the New York Jets. … Maura McGill is launching her own New York-based public affairs marketing firm, McGill Strategies. She most recently served as global head of policy paid media at DoorDash and is an Airbnb alum. … Resolution Public Affairs, the lobbying firm started by former Chuck Schumer aide Heather McHugh, has brought on another former longtime aide to the Senate minority leader. Meghan Taira has joined the firm as a principal after almost two decades in Schumer's office, most recently as legislative director.
BALKAN STATE OF MIND: Eric Adams' son drops new 'party' music inspired by chasing his rap dreams in Albania: 'Biggest chapter of my life' (New York Post)
MEDIAWATCH: Matthew Fischetti has joined the New York Post as a City Hall reporter. He was recently an assignment editor at NY1 and is a BQE Media alum … Kadia Goba is joining The Washington Post to cover Congress. She was most recently at Semafor and got started at Kings County Politics, NY1 and Bklyner … Patrick Spauster is joining City Limits as a housing and homelessness reporter. He was previously a data fellow at the NYU Furman Center.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Paragon Strategies' Andre Richardson … former Assemblymember Karim Camara … David Imamura … Gene Russianoff … Elana Leopold … Anderson Cooper … John Kirby … WSJ's Michelle Hackman … Gina Foote of FGS Global … Edelman's Rob Rehg … Dennis Overbye ... Don Teague.
Missed Monday's New York Playbook PM? We forgive you. Read it here.