Cuomo Suggests He'd Reject Cabinet Offer in a Biden Administration

Then-Vice President Joe Biden and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo speak during a political rally in New York City on Sept. 10, 2015. (Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

Democrat New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday he would remain governor even if he was offered a Cabinet position in the next administration.

An anonymously-sourced report claimed Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has Cuomo as a possibility for his attorney general if he wins the upcoming election.

“I would say, ‘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,’” Cuomo said on NBC’s “Today” show on Monday, when asked about the report.

“I’m a New Yorker. I said I would serve as governor and those rumors ... 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,” he said. “I have no interest in going into 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.”

Biden hasn’t made public the people he would consider for Cabinet positions if he gets elected.

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, left, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), arrives at the 9/11 Memorial in New York on Sept. 11, 2020. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)

Cuomo served as secretary of Housing and Urban Development in President Bill Clinton’s administration.

Speaking on ABC’s “This Week” in June, Cuomo had said he wouldn’t be interested in a Cabinet position in a potential Biden administration.

“I support Joe Biden for president, and I believe he’s going to be the next president. I am not running for anything. I am governor of New York and that’s all I want to be,” he said at the time.

“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.”

Other names floated as potential Biden Cabinet members include Rep. Deb Haaland (D-N.M.) and Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.), who are reportedly being considered for the head of the Interior Department.

“I’m honored that people believe in my leadership in protecting our public lands and combating climate change,” Haaland said in a statement to Politico. “It is also meaningful that our country has finally reached the point where having the first Native American Cabinet Secretary is a serious consideration. I am open to those opportunities where I can best serve New Mexico, Indian Country and our country at large.”

Ned Adriance, a spokesman for Udall, told the Santa Fe New Mexican, “Right now, Senator Udall is focused on a strong finish to his Senate term, and he’s also working hard to help the Biden-Harris ticket win New Mexico, win the West, and win the election.”