Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart Kausins, one of the state’s most powerful Democrats, joined dozens of lawmakers on Saturday, with New York City Mayor Eric Adams in close ties with President Donald Trump He called for him to resign when fighting the allegations.
As the New York Post first reported, Stewart Cousins said the charges against the mayor were distracting city and state officials to properly govern.
“Because I’m involved in the budget process, the fact that the mayor is talking about Mayor Adams instead of what he needs now shows that we are really spending more time on the mayor and his light form. Stewart-Cousins said in an audio recording provided by a spokesman to Spectrum News.
What you need to know
On Saturday, state senator majority leader Andrea Stewart Cousins became the latest politician to call Mayor Eric Adams to step down.
Stewart Kausins’ comments came days after at least seven prosecutors resigned, rather than enforcing an order from the Justice Department to dismiss the corruption charges against Adams.
In a statement provided to NY1, Adams’ deputy communications mayor Fabian Levy said the mayor was “clear, he has not resigned, he is stepping up.” Adams stopped calling for him to resign
“I think he has to take care of whatever the situation is, and it’s probably time for him to move,” she added. “I want to say we’re trying to take care of our states, our residents and our cities. Speaking about the mayor is a moment when we’re not focused on things, and we’re going to do that. Being there.”
In response to a request for comment on Stewart-Cousins’ remarks, Adams’ Communications Mayor Fabien Levy said the mayor was “clear, he has not resigned, he has resigned.”
“As he said yesterday, we put this difficult episode behind us, allowing us to restore trust, and keep New York moving forward and delivering for the people of our city. You can do it,” Levy said.
Stewart Cousins’ comments came days after at least seven prosecutors resigned, rather than carrying out an order from the Department of Justice to dismiss corruption charges against Adams.
Daniel Sasson, a former Manhattan federal prosecutor who began a wave of resignation, said Adams was “confident” of the crimes he was charged with. She also said Adams believes the Justice Department is engaged in “Quid Pro Quo” actions to ensure that the Trump administration supports immigration enforcement.
Hagan Scotten, an assistant US lawyer in Manhattan who worked for Sussone, wrote in his resignation that he would withdraw the charges of Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove in order to take the “fool” or “collision.” I wrote that I would meet the request.
The Justice Department formally asked the court to dismiss the charges against Adams on Friday. Bove, the DOJ’s deputy commander, argued that Adams was needed to help President Trump crack down on immigrants.
After Sussone’s resignation, many of the New York state lawmakers include Bronx and Queens Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Lt. Col. Antonio Delgado, and state Sens. Mike Jayanalis and Queens Assembly Zoran Mamdani. I asked for the removal of Adams.
Assembly speaker Carl Heaty said he was worried that the situation could hold the city hostage, but he stopped asking Adams to step down.
“It’s not in my history that people should resign,” he told Capitol reporters on Saturday. “The bigger question is whether we have a fair Department of Justice. The Department of Justice is apolitical and should not be a deal. I think that’s a bigger concern than I have. I’m worried about where they are, as a nation if they start to lose faith in the Department of Justice.”
Heastie said he was not involved in meetings or calls to get Gov. Hochul to step down as mayor. He last spoke with Adams on February 4th or when the mayor met with Albany councillors about the upcoming budget.
If Adams does not decide to resign, Gov. Kathy Hochul has the power to remove him from the office.
In an interview with MSNBC’s Rachel Madow on Thursday, Hochul called the “Quid Pro Quo” accusations “very serious and concerned,” but at this point he doesn’t want a “knee” response when removing Adam. He said.
