Disgraced former Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-NY), who resigned amid twin scandals regarding his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and multiple allegations of sexual misconduct, is now the subject of an investigation undertaken by the U.S. Justice Department.

The New York Times reported on Tuesday that the investigation had begun about one month earlier, and that it stemmed from his order mandating that nursing homes in the state of New York accept patients regardless of whether or not they’d tested positive for COVID-19.

The times cited two as-yet-unnamed “sources familiar with the matter” and said, “The Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation of Andrew M. Cuomo, a front-runner in the New York City mayoral race, after Republicans accused him of lying to Congress about decisions he made during the coronavirus pandemic as governor.”

A Justice Department spokesperson reportedly declined to comment on the situation, citing a policy against discussing ongoing investigations either to confirm or deny their existence.

Cuomo is currently leading the Democratic field going into the next New York City mayoral election, and his spokesman Rich Azzopardi claimed that the investigation was politically motivated.

“We have never been informed of any such matter, so why would someone leak it now? The answer is obvious: This is lawfare and election interference plain and simple — something President Trump and his top Department of Justice officials say they are against,” Azzopardi said, arguing that Cuomo had “testified truthfully to the best of his recollection about events from four years earlier, and he offered to address any follow-up questions from the subcommittee — but from the beginning this was all transparently political.”

The investigation was opened by the Washington, D.C., U.S. Attorney’s Office when Ed Martin was still serving in the position on an interim basis. Jeanine Pirro has since been appointed to the role and her office will spearhead the investigation.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) said after a hearing in June of 2024 that he had seen “overwhelming evidence” that Cuomo had been part of a 2020 audit that undercounted COVID nursing home deaths by 46%. He was referred to the Justice Department for what were termed “criminally false statements.”

The news comes just weeks after the Justice Department dropped a case against current Mayor Eric Adams — who is running for reelection as an independent — over concerns that it had been a political prosecution undertaken by the DOJ under former President Joe Biden.

On Tuesday, the GOP-led Senate unanimously passed bipartisan legislation from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) that seeks to make good on President Donald Trump’s campaign promise for getting rid of taxes on tips.

Axios reported earlier in the day that Senate Republicans were likely to block a request for unanimous consent for Cruz’s measure by Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) because the GOP-controlled House is working on Trump’s “one big, beautiful bill,” which has its own “No Tax On Tips” component.

However, that opposition did not materialize and Cruz’s “No Tax on Tips Act” passed by unanimous consent, which is an agreement that allows the upper chamber to bypass standard rules to speed up proceedings.

“President Trump made a promise to the American people that he would eliminate taxes on tips. In Congress, I formed a bipartisan, bicameral coalition to get that done, and in the Senate introduced the No Tax on Tips Act,” Cruz said in a statement.

“Today, I went with Senator Rosen to the floor to secure Senate passage of the bill,” he added. “This legislation will have a lasting impact on millions of Americans by protecting the hard-earned dollars of blue-collar workers, the very people who are living paycheck-to-paycheck. I urge my colleagues in the House to pass this important bill and send it to the President’s desk to be signed into law.”

According to a Congress.gov summary, the bill, as introduced, allows workers in tip-heavy jobs to deduct up to $25,000 in reported cash tips from their taxes unless they earned over a threshold, which is $160,000 for 2025 and adjusted annually for inflation. It also expands business tax credits to cover payroll taxes on tips from beauty services such as haircare and spa treatments.

Cruz’s office says the bill “exempts ‘cash tips’ — cash, credit and debit card charges, and checks — from federal income tax by allowing taxpayers to claim a 100% deduction at filing for tipped wages. The updated text includes guardrails to ensure only traditionally tipped employees will benefit from No Tax on Tips.”

The legislation now heads to the House, which is moving to pass through the reconciliation process a much larger bill that aims to provide funding for Trump’s domestic priorities, retain tax cuts from 2017, raise the debt limit, and more.

One of the megabill’s many provisions features a deduction for “qualified” tips for individuals who work in “an occupation which traditionally and customarily received tips” from 2025 through 2028. It also contains sections dedicated to some of Trump’s other ideas, including no tax on overtime and no tax on auto loan interest.

Democrats have joined Republicans in supporting the push for “No Tax On Tips.” In fact, Vice President Kamala Harris stole Trump’s proposal as they competed against each other for the White House in the 2024 election.

In a speech on the Senate floor, Rosen said that she wanted the legislation from Cruz to succeed rather than “forcing working families to choose between keeping their healthcare or keeping their tips” with the House’s more comprehensive bill, alluding to efforts by GOP lawmakers to rein in spending on programs such as Medicaid.