“Hell no.”
That’s what Gov. Kathy Hochul said Friday when asked if she’d consider taking a spot in the Biden administration — as she stressed there’s nothing that could shake her steadfast support of the president as the 2024 Democratic nominee.
Hochul — one of the 81-year-old president’s most ardent high-profile supporters in the Empire State — made it clear she has no interest in leaving the governor’s mansion, swatting down speculation that she was vying for a post in the administration.
“There’s no job on planet Earth that I’d rather be doing than being the governor of the greatest state in the nation for as long as the voters will have me,” Hochul, who says she is running for re-election in 2026, told reporters as she stood along the Hudson River after an unrelated press conference.
Asked who she goes to for counsel on national political issues, Hochul said she often speaks with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), both of whom have publicly backed Biden since his disastrous June 27 debate performance.
She also said she speaks with Queens Rep. Greg Meeks (D-NY), who this week wrote on X that “the president has done a great job.
“I solicit their opinions on what’s the state of play is in Washington. I’m a former member of Congress. I have a lot of deep relationships with people who are still there and that serves me well. I speak to the White House. Everybody takes my call,” Hochul said.
The governor stood by Biden after his gaffe-filled press conference Thursday night, hailing it as a success and saying her fellow Dems need to get in line.
“That is the person to preserve world order. If that wasn’t clear to everybody, Democrat, Republican or independent, then I’m not sure who to listen to, but listen to what the president said last night,” she said.
Hochul’s remarks come as some New York Democrats have started to call on Biden to scrap his re-election bid — including her No. 2, Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado, who earlier this week called for the president to step aside in a shocking public split with the governor.
Rep. Pat Ryan (D-NY), who is fighting to hold onto his competitive Hudson Valley seat, has also split with Biden.
“Joe Biden is a patriot but is no longer the best candidate to defeat Trump,” he wrote on X Wednesday. “For the good of our country, I am asking Joe Biden to step aside — to deliver on his promise to be a bridge to a new generation of leaders.”
Friday’s press conference was the first time Hochul spoke with the Albany press corps in almost a month.