Pressure from Cynthia Nixon’s primary challenge has pushed New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to the left on a number of issues ahead of this Thursday’s Democratic gubernatorial primary. Cuomo, though, has struggled to escape criticism for enabling the Independent Democratic Conference, a breakaway group of state Senate Democrats who caucused with the Republican minority to give them control of the chamber in a Democratic state. Notably, he only dissolved the alliance after Nixon’s entry to the race.

But his choice to hire numerous staff from across the aisle has gone largely unexamined.

Cuomo has repeatedly touted his ability to work across party lines, and judging by the number of Republicans he’s hired for key positions in his administration, he’s right.

In 2017, Cuomo hired a top aide to former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to be his chief of staff. Maria Comella, who worked on the 2004 George W. Bush campaign and the unsuccessful 2008 presidential campaigns of Rudy Giuliani and the late Sen. John McCain, helped “formulate the governor’s 2017 agenda” as an outside consultant, according to the New York Times.

In late 2016, Cuomo brought on Scott Sandman, who worked for over a decade as a staffer for Republican then-Gov. George Pataki, onto his team. In addition to his work for Pataki’s administration, Sandman also worked as a Senate Republican staffer.

Before hiring Sandman, Cuomo had already recruited two former aides for state Senate Republicans. He hired Robert Mujica, a top state Senate staffer, to be his budget director. And he appointed Kelly Cummings, who previously worked as the director of communications for Senate Republicans, to serve as his deputy chief of staff and senior adviser. Cuomo also hired veteran Republican consultant Susan Del Percio in 2014 as a special adviser, focusing on operations and special projects. Prior to joining the Cuomo administration, Del Percio had worked for Giuliani in his capacity as mayor of New York.

“Governor Cuomo slashed school funding in order to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy, and when you look at his staff, you hardly have to wonder why,” Nixon campaign spokesperson Lauren Hitt said in an email to The Intercept. “The Governor has surrounded himself with former top Republican staffers because, at his core, he simply is not a progressive. He’s allowed our subways and other infrastructure to rot, he’s sent out Donald Trump style campaign mailers to divide New Yorkers along religious lines, and – working with the IDC – he’s blocked critical progressive legislation like Medicare for All.”