Melissa DeRosa, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s top aide, has resigned from her role, she told the media Sunday night, about a week after a state attorney general report found the governor had sexually harassed 11 women.
DeRosa, who joined Cuomo’s administration in 2013, eventually became one of the governor’s most trusted confidantes. She wrote in a statement to news organizations that serving the people of New York had been “the greatest honor of my life.”
DeRosa often defended Cuomo when he faced public criticism. In March, she told lawmakers that Cuomo’s administration didn’t turn over nursing home death data to legislators last August because of worries the information would be used against them by President Donald Trump’s administration.
DeRosa is chair of the New York State Council on Women and Girls, which Cuomo launched in 2017 to, in part: “make sure that every policy enacted and each program created takes into account the experiences of women and girls and tries to further advance equality in our state.”