Andrew Cuomo and Gavin Newsom top the list of highest-paid governors in the US, with salaries over $200,000

• New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and California Gov. Gavin Newsom are the highest-paid US governors.
• Cuomo had a salary of $225,000, making him the highest-paid salary in US history, Forbes reported.
• Newsom is facing a recall effort, while Cuomo has been hit by a series of scandals.
• See more stories on Insider's business page.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is the highest paid governor in US history, according to a report by Forbes, with a salary of $225,000.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is the second-top paid current governor, earning nearly $210,000 in 2020.

Cuomo and Newsom, both Democrats, have faced a series of scandals throughout 2020 and this year, triggering calls for both to be replaced.

Cuomo was paid a $225,000 salary in 2020, per data from The Council of State Governments. This was set to increase to $250,000 in 2021, but Cuomo decided against taking the extra $25,000 after a state panel advised against raising officials' salaries.

Read more: NY Gov. Cuomo is hunting for crisis PR help as he battles negative press

The state's Lieutenant Gov. Kathy Hochul, Attorney General Letitia James, and Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli are all on $210,000 salaries, Forbes reported. This means both earn more than every governor in the 49 other states, the publication reported.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom had a salary of $209,747, data from The Council of State Governments from June 2020 showed.

The Forbes article was written by contributor Adam Andrzejewski, CEO of OpenTheBooks.com, a nonprofit that tracks government spending.

Cuomo has been accused of making unwanted physical advances and covering up nursing-home deaths

New York Attorney General Tish James in January accused Cuomo's administration of undercounting COVID-19 nursing-home deaths in the state by up to 50% by not including nursing home patients who died from the coronavirus while in hospital. The FBI is now investigating.

New York coronavirus testing sites were also reportedly told to prioritize people in Cuomo's inner circle, including his brother, top officials, and the billionaire president of pharma giant Regeneron.

The state's attorney general is also investigating whether Cuomo used state resources to complete his book about the pandemic, which reportedly earned him an advance of up to $4 million.

Meanwhile, at least 10 woman have accused him of making inappropriate comments or physical advances, including one current and three former aides.

Lawmakers have since called on the governor to resign, and some told Insider's Jake Lahut they're open to impeaching him.

Some California residents are pushing for Newsom to be recalled over his pandemic response

Newsom, on the other hand, is facing a serious recall threat in California.

Some residents were already pushing for this before the pandemic, over the state's housing and homelessness crises, but it picked up steam following outrage over coronavirus and lockdowns, Insider's Kayla Epstein reported.

This included critics slamming Newsom after he told residents to restrict social gathering in November, just a week after he attended a private dinner party at an upscale restaurant with at least 12 people.

If it gets on the ballot, it would be only the second recall election in the state's history, Insider's Epstein reported.