Nation's top governors under fire as three big states reckon with deadly crises

The multiple crises gripping the US -- from a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic to a deadly winter storm that left millions of Texans without heat and potable water -- have jeopardized the once-bright futures of three of the nation's most prominent governors who are trying to defend their judgment, preparedness and oversight to furious residents in three of the biggest states in the country.

Republican Greg Abbott and Democrats Andrew Cuomo and Gavin Newsom, who are all up for reelection in 2022, are facing very different problems — and different degrees of blame in what their critics view as lapses in judgment. But the white-hot scrutiny on all three of them underscores the increasing accountability for high-profile, big state governors after four years in which former President Donald Trump espoused a decentralized approach to the nation's most pressing problems and elevated the responsibility of governors to provide for their people by essentially telling them they were on their own. A fourth governor, Republican Ron DeSantis of Florida -- who was mired in controversy for his haphazard handling of Covid-19 for much of last year — is also in the spotlight again this week, facing new accusations of political favoritism surrounding the placement of a pop-up vaccination site that was set up to serve residents from two affluent zip codes.