Andrew Cuomo: New York governor among contenders for attorney general post

The other three contenders reportedly include outgoing Alabama senator Doug Jones, federal appeals court judge Merrick Garland and former deputy attorney general Sally Yates

New York governor Andrew Cuomo is among the contenders in the running for the role of attorney general in President-elect Joe Biden’s new administration, according to a report. 

The other three contenders at the moment include outgoing Alabama senator Doug Jones, federal appeals court judge Merrick Garland and former deputy attorney general Sally Yates, a person with knowledge of the search process told the Associated Press.

The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also told the news agency that no decision had been reached and no announcement was expected imminently.

The AP reported earlier in the week that Mr Jones, who lost his Senate seat last month, and Mr Garland, who was spurned by Republicans four years ago for a spot on the Supreme Court, had emerged as the two front-runners in the search process.

It was not clear to what extent the disclosure this week that federal prosecutors were investigating the finances of Mr Biden’s son, Hunter, might have scrambled the attorney general search process since the person who is ultimately picked would inherit the probe, assuming it remains active next month.

It was also not immediately clear how seriously Mr Cuomo was being considered or how any nomination of him would be greeted by either Republicans, given the governor’s antagonistic relationship with president Donald Trump, or by civil rights activists who have encouraged Mr Biden to build a diverse cabinet.

The Rev. Al Sharpton, who was among advocates who met with Mr Biden on Tuesday on the subject of diversity and civil rights, told reporters he had encouraged the president-elect to select a Black attorney general but gave him room to select someone of another race as long as they had a background in civil rights.

Mr Cuomo has been asked in recent weeks about his interest in the attorney general spot. Just this week, he said in a public radio interview in New York, “I have no intention to run for president or vice president, or go to the administration.” But he said the attorney general job “is really critical, especially now.”

A former state attorney general and Housing and Urban Development secretary in the Clinton administration, Mr Cuomo has been governor of New York since 2011 and has been the public face of the state’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.