Biden signs executive orders combating sexual harassment as Cuomo faces calls to resign over scandal

JOE Biden has signed executive orders combating sexual harassment as Andrew Cuomo faces calls to resign over his scandal.

The two orders, that were approved on International Women's Day, will help with gender equality.

In an executive order signed this morning, Biden directed the Department of Education to review policies implemented by Donald Trump’s administration, including changes to Title IX regulations that prohibit sex discrimination in federally-funded institutions.

Biden directed the agency to review all policies “that are or may be inconsistent” with the objective to prevent sex discrimination in education.

Biden focused on gender equity during his campaign and promised to strengthen Title IX if he won the White House.

He also signed a second executive order formally establishing the White House Gender Policy Council.

Biden’s transition team announced his plans to create the council before he took office.

The order directing the review of Title IX could pave the way to a major shift in how colleges handle allegations of sexual misconduct moving forward.

Trump’s education secretary, Betsy DeVos, in 2018 rescinded an Obama-era administration standard in cases of reported sexual assault from requiring a “preponderance of evidence” — meaning it is more likely than not that sexual harassment or violence occurred — to “clear and convincing evidence.”

The DeVos changes reduced the liability of colleges and universities for investigating sexual misconduct claims and bolstered the due process rights of the accused, including the right to cross-examine their accusers through a third-party advocate at campus hearings.

Biden, as vice president, along with then-Education Secretary Arne Duncan in 2011 laid out the legal guidance of what was expected of college campuses in response to allegations of sexual violence on behalf of President Barack Obama’s administration.

With the Education Department review, Biden’s intent is to set policies that help ensure students have an environment that’s free from sexual harassment and without discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, according to one White House official who briefed reporters on the orders.

The order establishing the Gender Policy Council comes after Trump disbanded an office specifically focused on women’s issues created during the Obama administration that was called the White House Council on Women and Girls.

While the new council is a resurrection of the Obama-era one, one administration official said that giving it a new name was acknowledgement that inequities can affect people of all genders.

Still, the official said the council will primarily focus on issues facing women and girls because of “disproportionate barriers” they face.

The new council is tasked with helping push gender equity on the administration’s domestic and foreign policy efforts.

Some of the issues the council will focus on include combating sexual harassment, addressing structural barriers to women’s participation in the workforce, decreasing gender wage and wealth gaps, addressing caregiving issues that have disproportionately impacted women and responding to gender-based violence.

The news comes just hours after embattled Governor Andrew Cuomo said quitting over harassment claims made against him would be "antidemocratic."

The New York Governor’s comments were made during a news briefing after two more women came forward over the weekend to accuse him of inappropriate behavior.

Democrat strategists have questioned if Gov Cuomo can survive his "harassment" scandal — as he refuses to quit after five accusers have spoken out.

Meanwhile, a total of 37 lawmakers from either the Assembly or state Senate want him to resign, and 10 have called for impeachment, Fox News reports. 

Yesterday, Cuomo told reporters on a conference call: "I’m not going to resign because of allegations.

 "The premise of resigning because of allegations is actually antidemocratic. 

"We’ve always done the exact opposite — the system is based on due process and the credibility of the allegations."

Cuomo said on Wednesday he had no intention of resigning and will instead allow an investigation overseen by state Attorney General Tish James to take place.

On Saturday, two more women who worked for Cuomo publicly accused him of inappropriate behavior, on the heels of other allegations in recent weeks.

They are former employees Ana Liss, 35, and Karen Hinton, 62, made claims this weekend as well.

Three other accusers, former aides Charlotte Bennett, 25, and Lindsay Boylan, 36, as well as another woman Anna Ruch, had previously come forward with allegations against Cuomo.

Bennett said the governor would ask her inappropriate questions about her sex life, while Boylan said he kissed her on one occasion, and brought up playing strip poker on another

Ruch said the governor grabbed her cheeks and asked to kiss her at a wedding, and that it was the first time they'd ever met.

Cuomo responded to the "harassment" claims earlier this week and revealed he was "embarrassed."

During a remote briefing mid-week, Cuomo said: "I understand sensitivities have changed, behaviors have changed, and I’m going to learn from it."

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