ALBANY, N.Y. — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's top aide abruptly announced her resignation late Sunday, delivering the latest blow to an embattled governor who stands on the brink of impeachment amid a wide-ranging sexual harassment scandal.
Melissa DeRosa, a longtime Cuomo aide who held the high-ranking title of secretary to the governor since 2017, issued a public statement around 9:30 p.m. Sunday confirming she was stepping down.
The statement did not give a reason for her resignation, nor did it mention Cuomo by name.
"It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve the people of New York for the past 10 years," she said. "New Yorkers’ resilience, strength, and optimism through the most difficult times has inspired me every day."
Her statement continued: "Personally, the past two years have been emotionally and mentally trying. I am forever grateful for the opportunity to have worked with such talented and committed colleagues on behalf of our state."
Cuomo trying to ward off impeachment
DeRosa's resignation comes as Cuomo is attempting to ward off calls for his ouster following the release of an 165-page report from Attorney General Letitia James' office that concluded he sexually harassed 11 women, including nine state employees.
Until her departure, DeRosa, 38, had been one of the few remaining Cuomo loyalists to remain as part of his inner circle.
DeRosa first joined Cuomo's administration in 2013 as communications director, quickly rising the ranks to chief of staff before she became secretary to the governor, which is the top non-elected position in New York state.
She played a key role in orchestrating many of Cuomo's successful policy pushes, including an increase in the minimum wage and the enactment of paid family leave. She was also Cuomo's top adviser on policies related to women's equality, serving as the chair of the state Council on Women and Girls.
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Her profile grew along with Cuomo's during the coronavirus pandemic, where DeRosa was a ubiquitous presence seated next to the governor during the daily news conferences that drew a national audience. She was heavily involved in the state's day-to-day response to the virus, and was frequently called upon for complex explanations during the briefings.
DeRosa was Cuomo's enforcer
DeRosa built up a reputation as Cuomo's primary enforcer, which was further laid bare in the Attorney General's Office report issued last week.
The report painted DeRosa as the architect of a plan to obtain counseling memos for Lindsey Boylan — a former Cuomo aide who had publicly accused the governor of harassment — and release them to members of the press in an attempt to discredit her.
DeRosa was also accused of directing a former staff member to surreptitiously record a phone call with another former Cuomo staffer who had expressed support for Boylan.
In February, DeRosa found herself at the center of a separate scandal surrounding the Cuomo administration, this one focused on the state's counting of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes.
That month, DeRosa had a private meeting with state lawmakers — a recording of which was leaked to the New York Post — in which she seemed to suggest the Cuomo administration knowingly held back the full number of nursing home residents who died of the virus.
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Until that point, the state had only been releasing the number of nursing home residents who died in the actual homes themselves, not the thousands who died in hospitals or hospice.
She claimed a request for information from then-President Donald Trump's Department of Justice contributed to the decision to delay the release of the full number to state lawmakers who had been requesting it for weeks.
"Basically, we froze because then we were in a position where we weren't sure if what we were going to give to the Department of Justice or what we give to you guys and what we start saying was going to be used against us and we weren't sure if there was going to be an investigation," DeRosa told the lawmakers.
Cuomo's inner circle is shrinking
DeRosa's departure leaves him with few remaining allies in Albany, where the governor has been holed up in the Executive Mansion since the release of the attorney general's report.
The Assembly Judiciary Committee, which is leading an impeachment inquiry, has given the governor until Friday to provide it with evidence as it wraps up its investigation.
Cuomo is also the subject of a criminal investigation in Albany County, where he is accused of groping an executive assistant, Brittany Commisso, in the Mansion last year.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Brooklyn, meanwhile, is believed to be investigating the Cuomo administration's handling of COVID-19 in nursing homes.
Cuomo has maintained he did not touch anyone inappropriately, and has suggested some of his comments about staff members' personal lives could have been misinterpreted.
His office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on DeRosa's departure.
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Follow Jon Campbell on Twitter @JonCampbellGAN.
