Amid a congressional hearing on Tuesday, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo defended his administration’s handling of COVID-19 in nursing homes.
Cuomo, whose decisions in early 2020 sparked widespread criticism, appeared before the Republican-led House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic. The hearing focused on a March 2020 directive that mandated nursing homes to accept recovering COVID-19 patients, a policy that some believe may have contributed to the spread of the virus among vulnerable populations.
Ahead of Cuomo’s testimony, the subcommittee released a report that accused the Democrat of staging a “cover up” to hide mistakes that endangered nursing home residents.
Cuomo fiercely denied the subcommittee’s claims during the hearing, including allegations that his administration concealed data on nursing home deaths to shield him from political fallout, adding that the subcommittee was seeking to divert attention from former President Donald Trump‘s pandemic leadership failures.
The report “provides no evidence to support Trump’s main allegation, repeated for three years, that New York’s guidance killed thousands in nursing homes. In fact, the report finds no causality whatsoever. Not one death,” Cuomo said.
The former governor’s comments come after he and his administration released an incomplete accounting of the number of deaths at nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Critics have focused on the March 2020 directive that initially barred nursing homes from refusing to accept patients just because they had COVID-19.
Under Cuomo’s directive, which was subsequently rescinded, over 9,000 recovering COVID-19 patients were released into nursing homes, a move intended to free up hospital beds, but has been widely criticized.
According to the Associated Press, there were about 15,000 COVID-19 deaths among long-term care residents in New York, far more than the initial number previously disclosed.
Former Democratic New York Governor Andrew Cuomo testifies before the GOP-led House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic on September 10 in Washington, D.C. Cuomo defended his administration’s handling of COVID-19 in nursing homes.
Kent Nishimura/Getty Images
Republicans on the committee, including Ohio Representative Brad Wenstrup, continued to criticize Cuomo, accusing him of evading responsibility, telling the former governor, “You own this. It’s your directive, and the buck stops with you.”
The congressional committee had said it determined that Cuomo and his top aides approved the directive and later tried to deflect blame by ordering up an unscientific report concluding that the rescinded March directive likely had little impact on fatalities.
Tensions at the hearing further escalated when New York Representative Elise Stefanik challenged Cuomo to apologize directly to the families of those who died in nursing homes during the pandemic.
“There are families sitting here. I want you to look them in the eye and apologize, which you have failed to do,” she said.
Cuomo refused, accusing the committee of turning the hearing into political theater. Despite resigning in August 2021 amid sexual harassment allegations, Cuomo continues to fight criticism over his handling of the pandemic. The hearing marked Cuomo’s first public defense of his pandemic-era decisions in front of a congressional panel, though he previously testified behind closed doors in June.
The subcommittee continues to investigate the full impact of New York’s nursing home policies during one of the deadliest phases of the pandemic.
Tuesday’s hearing arrived after a separate state report released this summer and commissioned by Cuomo’s successor, Governor Kathy Hochul, concluded that while the policies for nursing homes were “rushed and uncoordinated,” they were based on the best scientific knowledge available at the time.
This article includes reporting from the Associated Press.
