Summary
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is considering removing NYC Mayor Eric Adams after four top deputies resigned amid controversy over his corruption case.
The Justice Department dropped Adams’ case, allegedly to secure his cooperation with Trump’s immigration crackdown, sparking backlash.
Seven federal prosecutors quit in protest, and Democratic leaders, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, called for Adams’ resignation.
Adams, who denies wrongdoing, faces a tough reelection. Hochul stressed that removing a mayor is unprecedented but said the situation “cannot be ignored.”
True, but this looks like it may be different. Based on the article, it seems less like she’s deciding whether to do it than trying to figure out how. It has never been done before and there are multiple steps but the process is only loosely defined.
Edit: Not different.
meanwhile the republicans merely act and let the democrats whine about the illegality of their actions while continuing to plow ahead without any consequences.
I’m not a we go high when they go low kinda guy but it’ll be really hard for a governor to act like Trump. And it’ll be especially hard if said governor has to go up against Trump. It’s hard to compel Trump because who enforcers anything on him? Yet Trump is probably drooling at the possibility of sending federal agents to arrest a governor.
None of this makes Trump’s abhorrent behavior okay, of course.
At some point, public officials have a responsibility to put their duty to public before their own safety and comfort. I get that its hard to oppose Trump, which is why the people most empowered to do so should be doing every single thing they can to stand in his way.
Do you honestly think having some legal justification would change anything about how Trump would respond?
“Do you honestly think having some legal justification would change anything about how Trump would respond?”
Not sure where you’re going with this. Sadly, we’re in a might makes right era. I’d be surprised if Trump pays more than cursory attention to the lawyers advising him.
Pretty much the only thing the governor can do is political theater or resigning in protest (which Trump could care less about).
Where im going is that it doesn’t matter whether they have a legal basis to dismiss Adams or not. Trump will claim what they’re doing is illegal either way and act accordingly. Who is going to stop him?
If it’s all fucking theater anyway then make it a scene. Get arrested. Making them devote even a small amount of resources and attention on you is infinitely more valuable than just letting them get away with it again or resigning in worthless protest. Being a political prisoner for defying fascism is a hell of a lot more admirable than sending the national guard into the subway to harass commuters over some imagined crisis.
Yeah I think we all agree Trump doesn’t give AF about what’s legal. But crucially, Trump can do that because he’s commander in chief of the world’s largest military, has a Supreme Court that supports him, has a rabid base that would go to war for him, and a Congress that overall is more favorable to him than Democrats.
In other words, Trump is in a position to flout rules. The governor is not. This doesn’t make me happy. I don’t support it. But it is what it is.
If the governor is completely powerless in the face of Trump then there’s no reason to even look into this because the law doesn’t matter. If the only reason you wont do it is because you’re concerned about retaliation from Trump then that will happen regardless of legal justification. So either you accept the consequences of action and take it, or let Trump continue to plow ahead full steam. There is no world in which the person looking for a legal basis to avoid Trump’s wrath will ever take action on anything that might provoke him, so this entire exercise is already political theater.
So what does the governor do? What does anyone do? What’s “the” action? The only avenue forward is hopefully legal measures because if governor breaks any serious laws she’s done and nothing happens.
Yeah, it is all political theater because one party is much more powerful than the other.
Not a New Yorker but id assume the best way would be to have a couple state troopers or equivalent go in and ceremonially remove him from office and then either appoint an interim mayor or have the someone lower in the city bureaucracy fill it, then simply run a special election as soon as physically possible. If the feds IE Trump throw a fit tell em to fuck off as they have no authority over the situation.
If Adams resists well shit happens and human lives are cheap whats one man to the integrity of our institutions.
It would be far from the first black man shot by cops in NYS.