Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is set to testify publicly before a GOP-led House panel on Tuesday, facing questions about his handling of the pandemic and nursing home policy during his time in office. Cuomo previously testified behind closed doors before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic in June, but this public hearing offers Republicans a chance to question him directly. Cuomo has defended his pandemic response by stating that New York followed federal guidelines.
New York’s handling of nursing homes during the pandemic has been under scrutiny, particularly after a controversial advisory issued by the state health department in March 2020 regarding hospital discharges and nursing home admissions. Cuomo announced an executive order in May 2020 requiring patients to test negative for Covid-19 before being discharged from a hospital to a nursing home. Republicans on the House panel released a memo ahead of the hearing alleging that Cuomo was involved in decisions that led to the controversial directive.
Critics argue that New York State undercounted Covid-19 deaths among nursing home residents during Cuomo’s time in office, leading to a much lower count of nursing home deaths than the actual number. The House panel’s investigation includes interviews with Cuomo and aides, as well as reviewing hundreds of thousands of pages of documents. Cuomo’s spokesperson has pushed back against the allegations, stating in a release that the panel’s report does not conclude a causality between the directives and nursing home deaths.
Cuomo has faced investigations by multiple entities for his handling of the pandemic, including the Department of Justice, Manhattan district attorney, New York attorney general, and the New York State Assembly. Despite these investigations, no charges were brought against Cuomo. The current New York Governor, Kathy Hochul, has been criticized for not being cooperative with document and information requests from the House panel, prompting consideration of issuing a subpoena. Cuomo served nearly three full terms as governor before resigning in August 2021 following allegations of sexual harassment.
The House panel’s memo accuses Cuomo of manipulating data and influencing reports to shift blame for nursing home deaths. Cuomo has denied these allegations, maintaining that New York followed federal guidelines in its pandemic response. During the hearing, Cuomo is expected to face questions about the controversial nursing home policies and directives issued during the pandemic. The hearing provides an opportunity for Americans to hear directly from the former governor about New York’s nursing home policies and response to the pandemic.
