Andrew Cuomo has just delivered his farewell speech as Kathy Hochul prepares to take over as governor this evening.
Cuomo will officially end his term at 11:59 p.m. and Hochul will be sworn in just after midnight tonight.
Hochul will be taking on an administration filled with issues from Cuomo’s time in office, including ones from the last few months of his distraction from duties as governor.
Hochul faces mask mandates as school opens, the economy after the pandemic, and even the nursig home deaths.
She has appointed Karen Persichilli as Secretary to the Governor and Elizabeth Fine as her chief legal counselor.
Hochul says her plan is to keep Cuomo’s original administration for 45 days while she hires new people but she will not keep anyone found to have behaved unethically.
She says she was unaware of Cuomo’s treatment of women and did not work closely with him, but that toxic behavior is not something she will tolerate.
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