Cuomo evokes Trump in war with Schumer over coronavirus funding

NEW YORK — In the chaotic scramble of New York politics within the age of coronavirus, Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo is evoking none aside from Republican President Donald Trump in his public distaste for New York’s other prime Democrat: Sen. Chuck Schumer.

The decadeslong Cuomo and Schumer relationship has never been noteworthy for its heat. But they’re like-minded politicians representing the same state, and when Cuomo speaks of New York’s highest ranking member of Congress lately, he all however grimaces.

The apparent trigger lies in the murky world of health care finance: Cuomo and his aides fault Schumer for failing to guard long sought modifications to how the state allocates Medicaid — something the governor needed even before New York turned the American epicenter of the pandemic.

“I say to Sen. Schumer, it might be good if he handed a bit of laws that really helped the state of New York,” Cuomo lately informed reporters, referring to the Senate minority chief who has regaled the media with press releases concerning the $112 billion in emergency help he’s directed to the Empire State.

Cuomo drubbed Schumer all through March, calling the first $eight billion emergency federal funding package deal "ludicrous" and "disconnected from actuality” for leaving New York with only $35 million.

That Schumer, a strong Democrat who occupies a equally centrist lane to the governor, ought to emerge as a preeminent focus of Cuomo’s ire during a disaster the governor says should engender unity is exceptional for what it says concerning the budgetary hellscape the governor is now dealing with. With the cessation of most economic activity within the country’s monetary capital, the state is anticipating as much as $15 billion less in revenue. Cuomo’s posture also suggests he doesn’t see a draw back in aligning his Schumer sentiments with these of the commander in chief, whose cooperation he badly wants.

And so the senator, Cuomoland tells POLITICO, failed to guard a measure in the third federal aid invoice that may have allowed a few of Cuomo’s Medicaid reforms to go forward, reforms that Cuomo stated would save the state $1.6 billion this yr and more the subsequent. Nor, they say, is the quantity of Medicaid cash that Schumer says he’s sending to New York State the actual sum of money in play, because it’s amortized over months, and the federal emergency order won't last that lengthy.

“Why would the federal government say, ‘I’m going to trample the state’s right to revamp its Medicaid program, that it runs?’ That saves money?'” Cuomo stated final week. “I don’t even know what the political interest is that they’re making an attempt to protect.”

People sympathetic to Schumer argue there’s a bit extra to it than that: The governor is using Schumer to deflect blame for a terrifying finances shortfall that may end in service cuts across the state. They are saying it’s an inexpensive, if cynical, political play.

“One thing the governor isn't prepared to say is the Senate is managed by the Republicans, Donald Trump is president, and these guys have an inherent curiosity in screwing New York, as a result of they’re all motherfuckers,” stated one Schumer partisan.

A Cuomo confidant scoffed at the premise.

“The 2 most difficult budgets he had was his first one and this one, and those additionally occurred to coincide with excessive marks in the polls, as a result of as long as you degree with individuals, they perceive robust selections,” that individual stated.

The governor is finding help for his argument in unusual locations.

“[Senate Majority Leader Mitch] McConnell provided Schumer precisely what Cuomo requested for on this repair and Schumer rejected it,” tweeted Rep. Lee Zeldin, a Trump enthusiast from Long Island, on Sunday.

In a comply with up interview, Zeldin stated he is aware of that Schumer killed the Cuomo-friendly clause because aides to McConnell and Home Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy advised him so.

Spokespeople for McConnell and McCarthy didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Zeldin believes Schumer’s resistance to delivering for Cuomo is sort of easy: Schumer doesn’t help Cuomo’s proposed Medicaid redesign.

A spokesperson for Schumer stated the senator has taken no position on Cuomo’s proposed Medicaid cuts and had performed no position in stripping the clause from the legislation.

Schumer aside, quite a lot of Democrats oppose Cuomo’s Medicaid reform proposals on the merits, including his effort to have localities decide up a more substantial portion of the tab. Critics argue the reforms have been crafted behind closed doors, that it makes no sense to cut health care funding throughout a health care crisis, and that even when there's some sense in concentrating on waste and fraud, it additionally is sensible to boost taxes on the rich to help a program that poor New Yorkers rely on — a step that Cuomo refuses to take.

Even before coronavirus disrupted society as we know it, Cuomo was dealing with a $6 billion finances shortfall, one that he largely laid at the ft of Medicaid progress. He punted the difficulty to a panel stacked with allies.

His panel issued suggestions that it stated would save the state $1.6 billion this coming fiscal year (and much more the subsequent).

At first, it seemed like Congress may acquiesce to Cuomo’s want for legislation allowing all of those modifications to go ahead. A March 25 draft version of the third coronavirus relief bill in reality included language that appeared to do exactly that. In the final bill, that language had been eliminated.

“Anyone pulled some critical strings to get that in there and anyone else pulled some critical strings to get it again,” stated Bill Hammond, the director of well being policy on the Empire Middle.

Cuomo’s initial response to the ultimate legislation was volcanic. He threatened to forgo more than $6 billion in further federal Medicaid cash because the legislation would stymie his reform efforts. He spewed blame.

“[New York’s congressional delegation] never fastened that invoice,” he informed reporters. “They never fastened it. They stated they would, they by no means did.”

Final Sunday, after he recommended Schumer move “laws that truly helped the state of New York,” he and Schumer spoke.

“Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi, Governor Cuomo, and I had an extended and productive conversation last week,” stated Schumer in a press release. “We agreed that there's vital cash for New York in the legislation we passed, but that much more is needed and we'll proceed to work collectively to make that occur."

After the call, Cuomo issued a touch conciliatory tweet.

“NY wasn’t helped by the federal legislation,” Cuomo tweeted. “We acquired lower than different states regardless of having probably the most COVID-19 instances. I spoke to Senators Schumer, Gillibrand & Speaker Pelosi & they've dedicated to proper this improper. I am committed to working with them.”

The lull didn’t last long. A couple of days later, the governor was again to criticizing his state’s senior senator.

“God will determine who is in charge,” Cuomo stated Tuesday when asked about his dustup with Schumer over the federal legislation. “You and I simply cope with the realities. The senior senator will say he's in the minority, which is true… They’ll say politics, I say politics be damned in the midst of this.”

In the meantime, Cuomo seems to have found his personal answer to this federal-state Medicaid standoff. He still plans to pursue the modifications, probably after the coronavirus crisis passes.

Src: Cuomo evokes Trump in war with Schumer over coronavirus funding
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