♪ >> giving you a rosita democracy. -- front row seat to democracy. >> amid sexual harassment allegations, governor andrew cuomo today announced he's resigning. here's his resignation statement. >> first, i've always started by telling new yorkers the fact for my opinions. let's start tough with the truth. the attorney general did reports on complaints made against me by certain men on my conduct. the report says that i sexually harassed 11 women.

that was the headline people heard, saw, and reacted. the reaction was outrage. it should have been. however, it was also farce -- false. my lawyers have reviewed the report and have already raised serious issues and flaws that should concern all new yorkers. when there is a bias or a lack of fairness in the justice system, it is a concern for everyone. not just of those immediately affected. the most serious allegations made against me had no credible factual basis in the report. there is a difference between alleged improper conduct and concluding sexual harassment. now don't get me wrong, this is not to say that there are not 11

women who i truly offended. there are. and for that i deeply, deeply apologize. i thought a hug and putting my arm around a staff person while taking a picture was friendly. she found it to be to forward. i kissed a woman on the cheek at a wedding and i thought i was being nice, but she felt it was too aggressive. i have slipped and called people honey, sweetheart, and the darling. i meant it to be endearing, but women found it dated and offensive. i said on national television to a doctor giving me a covid nasal swab, you make the gown look good. i was joking. obviously. otherwise i would not have said it on national television.

she found it disrespectful. i take full responsibility for my actions. i have been too familiar with people. my sense of humor can be insensitive and off putting. i do hug and kiss people casually. women and men. i have done it all my life. it's who i have been since i can remember. in my mind, i have never crossed the line with anyone. but i didn't realize the extent to which the line has been redrawn. there are generational and cultural shifts that i just didn't fully appreciate. and i should have.

no excuses. the report did bring to light a matter i was not aware of and that i would like to address. a female trooper related reports that i later found disturbing -- she found disturbing and so do i. the governor's trooper detail had 65 troopers on it, but of those there were only six women and nine black troopers. i very proud of the diversity of my nist ration. it's more diverse than any administration in history and i more out of the fact that i have or women in senior positions than any governor before me. the lack of diversity on the police detail was an ongoing disappointment or he. in many ways, it's the face of state government people see.

when i attend an event, people see it. the detail that's with me. i was continuously trying to convert more to diversify -- recruit more to diversify. i met some at an event and they seemed competent and impressive and i asked state police if they were interested in joining. i often meet people, men and women, and if they show promise, i refer them to be interviewed. the state police handled the interviewing and the hiring and one of the two troopers eventually joined the detail. i got -- i got to know her over time and she's a great affectional and i would sometimes banter with her in the car. we spent a lot of time driving around the state. this female trooper was getting married. i made some jokes about the

negative consequences of married life. i meant it to be humorous. she was offended and she was right. the trooper also said that in an elevator i touched her back and that when i was walking past her in a doorway, i touched her stomach. now i know don't recall doing it, but she said i did it, i believe her. at public events, troopers will often hold doors open or guard the doorways. when i walked past them, i will often give them a grip of the arm, a pat on the face, touch on the stomach or slap on the back. it's my way of saying i see you, i appreciate you, and i thank you.

i'm not comfortable just walking past and ignoring them. worse usually they are male troopers. in this case i don't remember doing it at all. i didn't do it consciously with a female trooper. i did not mean any sexual connotation. i did not mean any intimacy by it. i just wasn't inking. it was totally thoughtless in the literal sense of the word. it was also insensitive. it was embarrassing to her and was disrespectful. it was a mistake, plain and simple. i have no other words to explain it. i want to personally apologize to her and her family. i have the greatest respect for her and for the new york state police.

obviously in a highly political matter like this, there are many agendas and many motivations that play. if anyone thought otherwise, they would be naive and new yorkers are not naive. but i want to thank the women who came forward with sincere complaints. it's not easy to step forward, but did an important service. you taught me and you taught others an important lesson. personal boundaries must be expanded and protected. i accept full responsibility. part of being new york tough is being new york smart. new york smart tells us that this situation and moment are not about the facts, not about

the truth, not about thoughtful analysis, not about how to make the system better. this is about politics and our political system today is to often driven by the extremes. rashness has replaced reasonableness. loudness has replaced soundness. twitter has become the public square for policy debate. there is an intelligent discussion to be had on gender-based actions. on generational and cultural behavioral differences. on setting higher standards and on finding reasonable resolutions. but the political environment is too hot and too reactionary for

it now and that is unfortunate. now, you know me. i'm a new yorker, born and bred. i am a fighter and my instinct is to fight through this controversy. because i truly believe it is medically motivated. i believe it is unfair and untruthful. and i believe it demonizes behavior that is unsustainable for society. if i could communicate the fact through the frenzy, new yorkers would understand. i believe that. but when i took my oath as governor, then it changed. i became a fighter, but i became a fighter for you. and it is in your best interest

that i must serve. this situation, by its current trajectory, will generate months of political and legal controversy. that is what is going to happen. that is how the political wind is blowing. it will consume government. it will costs taxpayers millions of dollars. it will brutalize people. the state assembly yesterday outlined weeks of grass that will then lead to months of litigation. time and money that government should spend managing covid, guarding against the delta variant, reopening upstate, fighting gun violence, and saving new york city. all that time would be wasted.

this is one of the most challenging times for government in a generation. government really needs to function today. government needs to perform. it is a matter of life and death, government operations. and wasting energy on distractions is the last thing that state government should be doing. and i cannot be the cause of that. new york tough means new york loving. and i love new york. and i love you. and everything i have ever done has been motivated i that love. and i would never want to be unhelpful in any way. and i think that, given the circumstances, the best way i can help now is if i step aside

and let government get back to governing. therefore, that's what i'll do. because i work for you, doing the right thing. and doing the right thing is doing the right thing for you. as we say, it's not about me, it's about we. kathy holcomb, my lieutenant governor who is smart and confident, can see we have a lot going on. i'm very worried about the delta variant. so should you be. but she can come up to speed quickly and my resignation will be affect even teen days. to my team, [reads list of names ] and the hundreds of dedicated administration officials, i want

to say this. thank you, thank you. and to proud. we made new york state the progressive capital of the nation. no other state government accomplished more to help people. and that it is -- and that is what it is all about. think about what we did, we created marriage equality -- has to marriage equality -- passed marriage equality and generated a force with a change that's -- change -- with a force that changed the nation. we've banned assault bins. we've saved -- assault weapons. $15 minimum wage, highest in the nation. lifting millions of families and their standard of living, putting more food on their

table, clothes on their back. and we lead the nation in economic justice with our reform. we have managed every emergency mother nature could throw at us. fires, floods, hurricanes, super's, and pandemics. we balanced the state budget and we got it done on time more than any other administration. government should work and perform. free college tuition for working families. no one will be denied their college dream because of their income. we built new airports. rail, transit, roads across the state, faster and better than ever before. more than any state in the nation, the most effective economy in the nation. we did more for black and latino families than for any -- then any other administration. we did more for our union brothers and sisters, more to

better racism and anti-summit is today so much of the politics is just noise, just static. that is why people tune it out. what matters is actually improving people's lives. and that's what you did to. you made this state a better state for the generations that followed. and that is undeniable, inarguable, and true. even in these ugly crazy times. thank you to the leadership and let me say this on a personal note, in many ways, i see the world through the eyes of my daughters. they are 26 and 26, twins, and 23.

i have lived this experience with and through them. having sat on the couch with them, hearing the ugly accusations for weeks. i have seen the looks of their eyes, the accusations on their faces, and it hurt. my greatest goal is for them to have a better future than the generations of women before them. it is still in many ways a man's world. it always has been. we have sexism that is cultural lysed and institutionalized. my daughters have more talent and natural gift than i ever have had to. i want to make sure that society allows them to fly as high as their wings will carry them. no assumptions, no stereotypes, no limitations. i want them to know from the

bottom of my heart that i never did and never would intentionally disrespect a woman or treat any woman differently than i would want them treated. that is the god's honest truth. your dad made mistakes and he apologized. he learned from it. that's what life is all about. i know the political process is flawed and i understand the cynicism and distrust and disappointment now, but don't give it up. >> want to remind all new yorkers of a lesson. one that i will carry with me for the rest of my life.

that is what new yorkers did in battling covid. the enemy landed in new york state. covid launched the attack here. it came on planes from europe, we had no idea. it wasn't at bush -- was an ambush. we were on our own. it was war. nurses, doctors, essential workers became our frontline heroes. hospitals became the battlegrounds. streets were still. sirens filled the city's silence. trailers carried the bodies of our fallen mothers and sisters. -- brothers and sisters. you fought back. you one -- won.

going from the highest infection rates in the nation to one of the lowest. no one thought we could do it. but you did it. you lead the nation and you showed the way forward. how you did it is what is most important. who did it together. not as black new yorkers, or what you new yorkers, or straight new yorkers, or republicans or jewish or muslim, protestant, or as one community. the family of new york. you overcame the naysayers and haters and the fear and division. you unified and you rose at you overcame -- and you overcame. you saved lives. that was powerful. it was beautiful to see. it was an honor to lead.

please remember that lesson. hold the deer and hold it up high for this nation to see. -- hold it deer and hold it up for the nation to see. giving life and animation to the lady in the harbor. proclaiming, out of many, one. unity, community, love. that is how founding -- our founding premise. that is the salvation of this nation that is so desperately needs to hear. thank you for the honor of serving you. it has been the honor of my lifetime.

god bless you. >> the senate approved a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill which now heads to the house. the legislation provides money over several years for roads, bridges, public transit, rail, water projects, airports, broadband, and electric vehicle charging stations. senators working on the democrats' budget plan. live coverage of the senate on c-span2. >> tammy duckworth, a member of the foreign relations committee spoke about her recent trip to the indo pacific and the role the region plays in u.s. national security. this event was hosted by the center for strategic and international studies.