President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris maintained their silence Friday about New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s sexual harassment scandal as more top New York Democrats call for the governor to resign.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki repeated during a press briefing Friday that Biden continues to believe “every woman who has come forward deserves to have her voice heard” and “be treated with respect.”
“I don’t have any additional announcements from here,” Psaki said.
She said Biden and the coronavirus advisory team will continue to work with Cuomo to fight the virus in the state, even though the New York state legislature voted to strip the governor of his emergency powers.
“We certainly don’t want anyone in the state of New York to be penalized,” Psaki said.
She did not signal any change of the president or vice president’s position on the scandal, as they have been silent about the growing number of sexual harassment accusations against the governor.
Previously, Psaki defended their silence, noting that she, as the White House press secretary, spoke for both Biden and Harris.
“The benefit of doing a briefing every day is that I can certainly speak on behalf of the president and the vice president,” she said.
Prominent New York Democrat Reps. Jerry Nadler and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez joined the dozens of calls from leaders to resign.
In a press call with reporters, Cuomo refused to resign.
“I’m not going to resign,” Cuomo said, adding, “I also want to be clear: There is still a question of the truth. I did not do what has been alleged. Period.”