US News

Joe Biden reportedly ‘would consider’ Gov. Cuomo for attorney general

Aides at the National Governors Association have begun considering replacements for Gov. Andrew Cuomo as its chair, according to a report, as speculation mounts that he will be eyed for attorney general in a potential Biden administration.

Cuomo, a fairly close political ally of Democratic nominee Joe Biden, is being pushed for the role as the nation’s top law enforcement officer, Axios reported Sunday.

Given their relationship, the outlet reports that Biden “would consider him” for the job.

The former vice president and the New York governor have long had a professional rapport, though it evolved into one that was more personal in recent years.

In 2015, according to the New York Times, Cuomo earned himself “Biden’s lasting appreciation, and helped cement a personal friendship” when the two discussed the then-VP mulling a run for the presidency in the 2016 cycle.

For months, Biden spoke to Cuomo as he considered whether he would enter the race, which at that point was dominated by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Biden appreciated Cuomo’s counsel as he considered his options, according to the paper, and it impacted their political relationship going forward.

At the time, both men were in mourning, Biden for his son Beau and Cuomo for his father, former Gov. Mario Cuomo, both of whom had passed away that year.

In terms of their political alliance, Biden came to Cuomo’s aid when the moderate Democrat faced an energized primary challenge from actor and progressive activist Cynthia Nixon in 2018, campaigning across the state for the incumbent.

Just one year later, Cuomo became an early supporter of the vice president joining the 2020 field.

After Biden entered the presidential race, Cuomo and billionaire hedge fund manager Jim Chanos were some of the first in the state to hold a major fundraiser for the candidate, CNBC reported at the time.

As the race began to get crowded — with a staggering 27 Democrats running this cycle — the governor spent months maintaining his confidence in his candidate of choice to the public.

“When one of them needs something, it’s automatic. It’s not a calculation,” a person familiar with their relationship told Axios.

“He just sees Joe Biden as a morally decent guy, the same way I know he saw his own father, in that sense,” Jay Jacobs, New York Democratic Party chair and a close Cuomo ally, told The Times.

Reached for comment by The Post on the story, a Cuomo spokesman said the Democratic nominee had not reached out to the governor for any cabinet position and that Cuomo does not have interest in leaving his current post.

“One hundred percent he’s made zero outreach, has had zero conversations about this and has made his desire to stay in New York clear as day and be governor as long as people want him,” spokesman Richard Azzopardi said in a statement.

The Biden campaign declined to comment on the potential for an Attorney General Cuomo when reached by The Post. A representative for the National Governors Association did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.

When asked about the report on NBC’s “Today” show Monday morning, Cuomo called Biden “a good friend” whom he would offer to help in “any way I can,” but said he did not want to leave his job in Albany.

“I’m a New Yorker, I said I would serve as governor,” he told the network, adding jokingly, “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.”

“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.”