Andrew Cuomo Rips Federal Government for ‘Starving’ States: ‘Passing the Buck Without Passing the Bucks’

Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo ripped President Donald Trump and the federal government for placing the onus on states to reopen the country, but failing to provide financial assistance to accomplish this.

At Friday’s coronavirus update press conference, Cuomo discussed Trump’s recently-unveiled plan to reopen the country, which leaves it up to governors to follow a set of guidelines put forth by the White House.

Cuomo pointed out that “The federal government has passed three bills to address this crisis. Of those three bills, the state governments have gotten precisely zero, zilch, nada in unrestricted aid.”

“The states should this, the states should this, the states should this, yes,” a frustrated Cuomo mimicked, then saud “Well, what support have you given the states? None. I mean how can that even be? How is it even plausible as a strategy? It doesn’t work.”

He added that while he agrees that governors have the authority and the responsibility to decide when to reopen — noting “It also happens to be the Constitution” — he added “but then don’t ask the states, don’t give them this massive undertaking that has never been done before and then not give them any resources to do it. That’s not how this is going to work.”

“Don’t ask the states to do this, it’s up to the governors, up to the governors, up to the governors, okay. Is there any funding so I can do these things that you want us to do? No. That is passing the buck without passing the bucks,” Cuomo said.

“Passing the buck, which is the opposite of the buck stops here, the buck doesn’t stop here, I’m passing the buck and I’m not passing the bucks. I’m not giving the financial assistance to actually perform the responsibility,” he said.

Watch the clip above via CNN.