WASHINGTON - With New York state facing a major fiscal crisis, Governor Andrew Cuomo traveled to Washington Wednesday to meet with President Donald Trump.


What You Need To Know

  • Governor Cuomo met with the president Wednesday.
  • Cuomo spoke to Trump about New York infrastructure projects to jump-start the economy.
  • In his briefing, Cuomo went after Senate republicans for not backing emergency funding for New York and other states.
  • Trump remained noncommittal to any and all proposals suggested by Cuomo, saying they'd speak again next week.

The governor wants Washington to send federal dollars back to New York and to jump-start the job market with new infrastructure spending.

Cuomo arrived at the White House clad in a face mask for his Oval Office meeting.

“It was a good conversation,” Cuomo said later during a briefing with reporters. “The president’s from New York so he had a good context about the things we’re talking about.”

Cuomo said his meeting with Trump touched on a variety of topics, including critical infrastructure projects from the Second Avenue Subway extension to the LaGuardia AirTrain.

Cuomo highlighted the projects as a chance to bring back a coronavirus-ravaged economy.

"I have a shovel in the trunk of my car,” Cuomo said, referring to a long-discussed Hudson River tunnel project. “We’ll start this afternoon, right?”

The Wednesday afternoon briefing was largely tailored to a Washington audience. Cuomo used the stage to go after Senate Republicans, chiefly, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Florida Senator Rick Scott over their reluctance to back emergency funding for New York and other states now dealing with fiscal crises caused by the pandemic.

Cuomo has repeatedly emphasized New York sends more money to Washington than it gets back.

“Stop abusing the states who bore the brunt of the COVID virus, through no fault of their own,” Cuomo said.

Trump and Cuomo have long been political adversaries, but the briefing painted a picture in which Cuomo appeared to be more of a partner.

However, Cuomo emerged with no clear results or commitments from the president at the end of the meeting.