What is Hochul’s Biden strategy, anyway?

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Jul 12, 2024 View in browser   By Jason Beeferman Gov. Kathy Hochul’s staunch support of President Joe Biden could have something to do with her Irish roots. | Mike Groll/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul BIDEN’S BESTIE: Gov. Kathy Hochul really, really wants four more years of President Joe Biden. And she says it’s not for any self-serving reason, like, say, wanting a post in his cabinet or an ambassadorship in a tranquil, picturesque foreign nation. Playbook asked her today if she would ever consider a spot in a future Biden administration. “Hell no,” she answered during an unrelated press conference. “There's no job on planet Earth I’d rather be doing than to be the governor of the greatest state of the nation for as long as the voters will have me.” Politicians almost never cop to eyeing other jobs so her response wasn’t surprising but we figured we’d ask anyhow, given just how fervently she is supporting a president whose campaign is in dire straits. Her commitment to Biden, her backers tell us, is not only unwavering, it’s selfless. “Her motivations are all about doing what’s right for New York and winning in November,” said Jefrey Pollock, pollster and president of Global Strategy Group who works with Hochul’s campaign. We also asked her if there was anything — anything at all — that might cause her to doubt her support for the 81-year-old Biden or rethink if he could do the job at 85 or 86 years old. “No,” she responded. “I'll take him any day of the week over anything else.” Hochul isn’t the only governor showing strong support for Biden as more and more House Democrats have come out and called for him to step aside after his halting debate performance last month. Gov. Gavin Newsom has stood firmly behind Biden, even as his name is floated as a potential replacement. Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, another dream nominee for some Democrats, has also stuck with him. Governors, who rely on federal funding, have little to gain and lots to lose by coming out against the president. “People that are speaking out don't have those direct relationships with the White House and, in most cases, do have something personal to gain by being vocal,” said one national strategist who works in New York. The person asked not to be named to freely discuss the delicate situation embroiling the Democratic party. The strategist also said a lame duck president could be more inclined to support states like New York. While reiterating that nothing could make her lose support for Biden as the nominee, Hochul also made a point of referencing the various major infrastructure projects Biden delivered to New York. “Micron would not have happened under President Trump; we would not have the Gateway Tunnel under President Trump,” Hochul said. “I will not turn my back on that.” That commitment doesn’t surprise people who know Hochul; those Playbook spoke with described her as fiercely loyal. “What she has seen is a president that has consistently delivered for New York state,” Pollock said. “The loyalty in Irish blood runs very deep.” Chris Coffey, another Democratic strategist in New York, also pointed out the governor’s Irish roots when asked about her support for Biden, who plays up his own Irish roots. “She’s a loyal person,” he said, ticking off a list of reasons for Hochul’s posture. “She's sort of loyal by nature, I think, as one Irish pol to another right?” — Jason Beeferman   Understand 2024’s big impacts with Pro’s extensive Campaign Races Dashboard, exclusive insights, and key coverage of federal- and state-level debates. Focus on policy. Learn more.     From the Capitol The Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee is set to report some impressive fundraising numbers. | AP Photo/Mike Groll FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: The campaign arm of the Assembly Democratic is set to report a historically large war chest. The Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee will announce having $5.7 million in cash on hand, according to a person familiar with the upcoming filing. The committee raised more than $2 million between January and July, the person said. It’s a record-setting amount of money in the bank not just for DACC, but for any of the major legislative campaign committees in the state Senate or Assembly stretching back to 2000. The money eclipses the $5 million in cash on hand reported by the Senate Republican Campaign Committee in July 2004 — back when the GOP still held a majority in that chamber. Assembly Democrats, who will defend a supermajority this November, have held power in the chamber since 1975 in the aftermath of the Watergate scandal. — Nick Reisman THE UNDISPUTED CHAMPION OF THE MTA: Hochul inflamed critics and transit activists today while defending her decision to pause congestion pricing to reporters at an unrelated press conference in Albany. “I am one of the greatest champions of the MTA,” she said this morning when asked about the pause. “No one can dispute that.” The statement from the governor came as she strongly defended her record on transit, and specifically pointed to her move to bail out the MTA during last year’s budget cycle with over a billion dollars in funding for the agency through a payroll tax increase on big city businesses. “People do not think that I would come up with a plan last year and invest the money and time I did to find a solution to long term funding for the operating costs of this,” she said, referencing last year’s budget. Her abrupt decision to indefinitely pause the congestion pricing toll program has thrown the MTA’s capital plan for a loop. At least $16.5 billion has disappeared from the plan, and major signal improvements and accessibility upgrades have been put on hold indefinitely. The pause is also expected to impact the agency’s operational revenue, the details of which will likely be laid bare during the MTA’s July board meeting. At the very least, the agency is expected to bring down its ridership projections, since it was expected the now-suspended toll program would encourage more people to take public transit and boost ridership and fare revenue. Transit advocacy organization Riders Alliance responded to the governor’s assertion that she was one of the greatest champions of the MTA with a statement of their own. “Contrary to the governor's absurd claim, she has cut more transit funding than anyone in New York history,” the group’s spokesperson, Danny Pearlstein, said. “By 'pausing' congestion pricing before it even started, the governor guaranteed that essential transit upgrades like new elevators and signals will arrive late and cost extra.” — Jason Beeferman JUDGE DISMISSES SUIT AGAINST CUOMO: A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought against former Gov. Andrew Cuomo by one of the women who accused him of sexual misconduct three years ago. The suit, brought by “Trooper 1,” accused Cuomo of retaliation for suggesting in 2022 that he might seek perjury charges against his accusers. But retaliation can only be considered against an employer, the judge concluded. “Cuomo resigned from the governor’s office in August 2021,” District Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall wrote. “His resignation presumably ended any employment relationship may have had with Plaintiff.” Hall also used the decision to explain why she dropped Cuomo staffers Melissa DeRosa and Rich Azzopardi from the suit last fall. “Plaintiff fails to allege that an employment relationship existed between her and DeRosa, past or present,” she wrote. “Plaintiff does not allege that DeRosa had the power to hire or fire her. Plaintiff does not allege that DeRosa set her schedule. Nor does Plaintiff allege that DeRosa determined her rate of pay.” — Bill Mahoney AROUND NEW YORK RNC-BOUND: New York GOP members are gearing up for Milwaukee next week for the Republican National Committee’s nominating convention, where Donald Trump’s position atop this year’s ticket will be formalized and where his running mate is expected to be announced. House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik of North County will have a coveted speaking spot. Nearly all the GOP House delegation is expected to be in attendance, including Reps. Nicole Malliotakis, Claudia Tenney, Nick Langworthy, Anthony D’Esposito and Mike Lawler. There will be many others representing the Empire State, including former gubernatorial candidate and Rep. Lee Zeldin and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman as well as New York State Young Republicans chair Peter Giunta. — Emily Ngo — A ‘DISGRACE’: Rep. Jerry Nadler is punching back hard after Assemblymember Eddie Gibbs was caught on video during his election night party calling Nadler an “old Jew man” that would need to “change his pampers later.” Nadler called Gibbs a “bigoted anti-semite” and “disgrace.” (New York Daily News) — UKRAINIAN IMMIGRANTS AND TRUMP: Newly-arrived immigrants in New York City, some of them Ukrainian, fear Trump’s calls of mass deportation. (THE CITY) — IN OPINION: The NYPD’s new motto, that will soon be etched onto city cop cars, needs a change. (The New York Times) Missed this morning’s New York Playbook? Read it here.   Follow us on Twitter Jason Beeferman @JasonBeeferman   Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook  |  Playbook PM  |  California Playbook  |  Florida Playbook  |  Illinois Playbook  |  Massachusetts Playbook  |  New Jersey Playbook  |  New York Playbook  |  Brussels Playbook  |  London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters Follow us

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