Hochul’s Attempt to Coerce Trump is Both Ineffective and Ill-Advised
How questionable is this arrangement? Governor Kathy Hochul appears to be willing to not require Upstate residents to wait nine months for a new representative for UN-bound Rep. Elise Stefanik — provided that President Trump allows her to maintain the $9 “congestion” toll, adversely affecting a different set of her own constituents.
The governor and president have been in discussions about whether he will eliminate the tolls, which certainly looks like a case of attempted blackmail — and, as Trump might say, not very clever.
New York Democrats — particularly state Attorney General Tish James and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg — have spent years attempting to undermine Trump through legal battles.
Nevertheless, Trump assumed office with the hope of assisting his hometown.
Now, yet another New York Democrat, Hochul, threatens to interfere with his work in Washington through an outrageous action aimed at preventing the GOP from obtaining a House seat (and denying 877,000 North Country voters their representation) for most of the year.
Even if she secures her tolling authority through this exchange, it jeopardizes any potential long-term friendly relationship with the president.
This isn’t a beneficial arrangement for Trump either: He would be going back on promises made to various New York leaders (and millions of New York voters) to eliminate the tolls.
It would be much wiser to confront Hochul — who may very well back down, just as she has on multiple occasions when the Legislature has resisted her wishes.
She is fully aware that the president can and will make her pay if she does follow through on the threat, effectively branding herself as his adversary. (House Speaker Mike Johnson won’t appreciate it either.)
At the same time, the person most eager for her to proceed, House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jefferies, can offer her little in return.
Notably, Hochul on Tuesday was disavowing any involvement in the controversial bill, telling reporters, “I don’t introduce bills. It’s not the role of the governor” — as if she doesn’t frequently have allies introduce bills on her behalf.
Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins rejected that narrative, informing the press of Hochul’s involvement: “It began with her and if she’s interested in holding it that’s fine.”
Believe who you prefer; they’ve certainly all been disingenuous about the bill being anything other than an attempt to weaken Republicans in the House.
(And possibly in Albany as well: Should this become law, it would permit similar maneuvering over state legislative seats, including a forthcoming Senate vacancy that could turn into a GOP gain.)
Hmm: Hochul’s allies suggested yet another reason for her decision to pause the controversial bill: The “optics” are unfavorable.
They really are: Manipulating election laws for short-term partisan gain (or perhaps even worse, to secure a sordid deal) is essentially the opposite of “defending democracy.”
The governor’s best course of action is to fully retract her stance now, before Trump calls her bluff.
