One Last 'Quirk' From Cuomo: a 'Late-Night Ascension'

An aide to outgoing New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said out loud Monday what a lot of people surely already were thinking: The 63-year-old is done with elected politics once his resignation takes effect at midnight. "He is exploring a number of options, but has no interest in running for office again,” said a statement from Melissa DeRosa, per CNBC. Cuomo himself gave a final press conference in Albany on Monday during which he wished successor Kathy Hochul well and again defended his reputation against multiple accusations of sexual harassment.

• "The truth will [come] out in time, of that I am confident," Cuomo said.
• "You know me. I am a fighter, and my instinct is to fight this because it is unfair and unjust in my mind," added the governor. "But you also know that I love New York, and I serve you ... and in this moment, I believe the right thing is that my service come first."
• At New York magazine, Nia Carter notes that Hochul will make history when she becomes the state's first female governor, but finds it unfortunate that a lot of New Yorkers won't be awake to see the moment. "The late-night ascension seems to be another quirk of Cuomo’s decision to remain in office for two weeks, after announcing his resignation in the wake of the state attorney general’s investigation," writes Carter.
• Cuomo also had to fend off one last controversy, this one over his dog, on his final day in office.

(More Andrew Cuomo stories.)