Photo: Andrew Cabellero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images
As Election Day draws near, speculation has begun to grow about who could potentially be tapped for key roles in an incoming presidential administration. A new report suggests that Governor Kathy Hochul’s name has come up in conversations about roles in a Kamala Harris White House, prompting questions about her future in New York.
NOTUS reported Thursday on the state of the Harris transition team and the fledgling discussions about who could potentially join her in the White House. The piece floated several names, including Delaware senator Chris Coons, who reportedly has eyes on the Secretary of State position, as well as Transportation head Pete Buttigieg, whose allies have raised his name for a foreign-policy role. A source also told the outlet that Hochul’s aides have reached out to Harris’s team “to express her interest in a potential position.” A spokesperson from the governor’s office denied the claim, adding that Hochul “is not interested in a job in the federal government.”
Hochul later shut down the rumor herself, telling reporters that the report was “categorically false” and that she has no intentions of leaving her job. “I love being the governor of New York. I have lived in Washington. The first ten years of my government career were in Washington. I’ve spent time there as a member of Congress,” she said. “I love New York. I am not leaving New York.”
The governor attributed the report to people trying to sow discord during what she called the “silly season” of politics. “There are bad actors out there, once again, purveying in lies,” she said. When asked who the bad actors are, Hochul said there are “a lot of people in that category.”
“People are trying to create the notion that I’m not running for reelection, and I’m running for reelection,” she said.
Hochul’s path to the governor’s mansion was more unique than most. In 2021, the then-lieutenant governor was suddenly thrust into the spotlight following the abrupt resignation of her running mate, Andrew Cuomo, following numerous sexual-harassment allegations against him. Hochul, who became the state’s first woman governor, won a full term in office the following year. In July, Hochul indicated that she intended to run for reelection in two years. “Yes, 2026, it may be a long way off. I’m running. I’m preparing for that race,” she said.
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