ALBANY, New York-Embattled New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a three-term Democrat, has announced he will resign following a damning report from the state's attorney general that, among a host of other conclusions, found that he sexually harassed 11 women and sought to retaliate against at least one of his accusers after she went public with her allegations.

"Wasting energy on distractions is the last thing that state government should be doing, and I cannot be the cause of that," Cuomo, 63, said Tuesday from the state capital of Albany, New York."I think that, given the circumstances, the best way I can help now is if I step aside and let government get back to governing.

His lawyer, Rita Glavin, tried to discredit the report, saying the governor is a victim of a "mob mentality" by his political enemies.

Lt. Gov.  Kathy Hochul, a Buffalo native, is next in line and will become the state's first female governor.

The son of a three-term governor who was once New York's most powerful Democrat, Cuomo said his resignation will take place in roughly two weeks.

The resignation of New York's once favorite son, who became almost a national hero during the height of the pandemic last spring, leaves the governorship amid scandal and as Democrats seek to regroup behind the fiasco, which has drawn international attention.

President Joe Biden, America's most powerful Democrat and a Cuomo ally, was taken back by the report as calls for the governor to resign mounted as were House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and influential New York Democratic Reps. Hakeem Jeffries, the fourth-ranking member of the House Democratic leadership.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio , a fellow Democrat, called Cuomo's resignation a decision that is in the best interest of his city of some 8.4 million people, and the state.

President  Biden commented from the White House on Tuesday and said that Cuomo "did a hell of job as governor."

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