House Republicans Grill Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo Over COVID-19 Response
By Christian Wade (The Center Square)
Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo faced tough questions from House Republicans on Tuesday regarding his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and a directive that some claim contributed to a high number of deaths in nursing homes.
Members of the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, controlled by Republicans, grilled Cuomo over a directive issued by his administration early in the pandemic. The directive mandated that nursing homes and long-term care facilities in New York admit COVID-19-positive patients.
Republicans accused Cuomo of disregarding infectious control protocols in nursing home settings and federal guidance from the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare that contradicted his directive.
Chairman of the committee, Rep. Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, criticized Cuomo for not following federal guidance and medical doctrine by placing highly contagious patients in proximity to vulnerable individuals in nursing homes.
The committee released a memo ahead of the hearing, alleging that Cuomo and his team intentionally excluded significant nursing home-related COVID-19 deaths from mortality rates and edited documents to shift blame away from the former governor.
Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., demanded that Cuomo apologize to families who lost loved ones in nursing homes due to his administration’s policies. Cuomo defended himself, blaming former President Donald Trump for the high number of COVID-19 deaths in the country.
Democrats on the committee supported Cuomo and shifted blame to Trump’s pandemic response. The controversial directive issued by Cuomo’s administration required nursing homes to admit “medically stable” COVID-19 patients in 2020, contributing to a high death toll in long-term care facilities.
Despite investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Manhattan District Attorney’s office finding no wrongdoing on Cuomo’s part, Republicans continued to criticize him for his handling of the pandemic.
Cuomo maintained that his administration’s policies were in line with federal health guidelines at the time and that community spread, not infected hospital admissions, was responsible for the spread of COVID-19 in nursing homes.
Syndicated with permission from The Center Square.
