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Cuomo insists he won't take position in DC after being named as possible Biden attorney general

‘I just am giving you the straight advice as your governor and that’s where I am’ 

James Crump
Monday 12 October 2020 18:56 BST
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Andrew Cuomo insists he won't take position in DC after being named as possible Biden attorney general

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New York governor Andrew Cuomo has insisted that he has “no interest in going to Washington” after reports suggested he would be a candidate for US attorney general if Joe Biden is elected president in November’s election.

On Sunday, several Democratic donors told Axios that Mr Cuomo is being pushed for the position in a possible Biden administration, with the presidential election just a few weeks away.

The donors said that Mr Biden would consider him for the role, due to their long-running friendship and because Mr Cuomo formerly served as attorney general of New York before becoming the state’s governor in 2011.

However when asked about the report on NBC’s Today on Monday, Mr Cuomo said that he is not interested in moving to DC.

Mr Cuomo said that, if asked, his response to Mr Biden would be, “‘you are an old friend you are a good friend. You’re going to win this election. You’re going to be the president. I’ll help you anyway I can.'”

The governor added: “I’m a New Yorker. I said I would serve as governor and those rumours — those are only from people who want to get me out of New York. I don’t know why, but that’s where that’s coming from.

“I have no interest in going to Washington. I said when this Covid situation started, just so I had total credibility with the people of the state, I’m not running for president.

“I’m not running for vice president. I don’t want to go to Washington. I just am giving you the straight advice as your governor and that’s where I am.”

Axios reported that Stacey Abrams and former acting attorney general Sally Yates are also being rumoured as candidates for the position.

In June, when he was asked if he would consider serving in a possible Biden administration, Mr Cuomo made similar remarks, according to The Hill.

During an appearance on ABC’s Good Morning America, Mr Cuomo, who previously served as secretary of Housing and Urban Development during Bill Clinton’s presidency, said: “I was in a Cabinet, I was in Bill Clinton’s Cabinet, been there, done that.

“I don’t want to go to Washington. They couldn’t drag me, they couldn’t force me. I only represent the people of the state, I have no agenda besides theirs.”

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