Cuomo replacement Kathy Hochul flip-flopped on driver's licenses for illegal immigrants

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Rep. Lee Zeldin says New York Gov. Cuomo ‘needed to resign’

Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., on New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigning.

The replacement for outgoing and disgraced New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo previously flip-flopped on whether illegal immigrants should be allowed to obtain driver's licenses.

In 2007, New York Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul – who will take over as governor when Cuomo resigns in two weeks – said she was vehemently against illegal immigrants getting driver's licenses.

Hochul, who was the Erie County clerk at the time, even went so far as to proclaim that she would arrest any illegal immigrants who applied for licenses at one of the offices she oversaw for the Empire State.

KATHY HOCHUL TO BECOME FIRST FEMALE NY GOVERNOR AFTER CUOMO RESIGNATION

By 2018, however, Hochul had reversed on the issue. She blasted a county clerk that year for vowing to deny driver's licenses to illegal immigrants despite changes to state law.

In fact, she claimed farmers in New York were "clamoring" for illegal immigrants to receive driver's licenses in the state.

"This is a different climate right now, particularly with what is happening with immigration at the national level," Hochul told reporters in 2018.

"Having been in Congress and seeing the needs for people to get to jobs, and with the farmers in upstate New York here who have been clamoring for this, I would say my position now is different," she continued. "I would say that I’ve understood now since the 11 years have passed."

Hochul also said county clerks "have a responsibility to act as stewards of the state and implement its laws."

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Cuomo announced his resignation on Tuesday amid a chorus of calls for him to do so, becoming the third New York governor in a row involved in scandal during his tenure.

Hochul's office did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment.