Former Governor Cuomo Questioned in COVID Hearing Over Nursing Home Policy Linked to 15,000 Deaths

Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo testified in front of the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic on Tuesday to discuss his role in the deaths of elderly residents at nursing home facilities during the pandemic. Chairman Brad Wenstrup called the hearing and said the focus was on Cuomo’s March 25 directive that required nursing homes to house COVID-19-positive patients.

The post-hearing press release said there was bi-partisan committee pressure on Cuomo to apologize for the deaths that were caused by his executive order that was issued at the start of the pandemic in 2020. The press release said Cuomo lacked empathy and made “callous remarks” in response to the committee’s questions. Before the hearing, the committee released a 48-page memo that details the findings from the investigation. The committee has looked at over half a million documents and ten transcribed interviews as evidence in its final report.

Jeffery Jaxen reported for The HighWire in August 2020 about Cuomo’s resistance to providing the real numbers of deaths that occurred at nursing homes during this time period. Jaxen provided updates in February 2021, when the estimated number of deaths caused by the order was up to 6,500. Rep Elise Stefanik said in Tuesday’s hearing that Cuomo’s order was responsible for the deaths of 15,000 elderly New Yorkers.

During the hearing, Wenstrup and other committee members pushed back on Cuomo’s claim that his executive order followed CDC and CMS guidance. Rep. Malliotakis and Chairman Wenstrup pointed out that federal government agencies’ guidance used permissive language, including “can” and “shall.” Cuomo’s March 25 directive, however, required that nursing homes admit COVID-19-positive patients.

Cuomo claimed that New York had the 12th lowest death rate of all states in 2020, but Rep. Malliotakis said this claim was false. She said the Cuomo administration reported 6,000 deaths and only began counting in mid-May, and it didn’t include thousands of deaths that occurred while the directive was in “full force.” Rep. Malliotakis said the actual death count for New York was 11,400.

Rep. Malliotakis also pushed back on Cuomo’s claim that the directive was intended to prevent overcrowding at the hospitals. She said New York had access to the US Navy Comfort Ship and the Javits Center, but both of them were underutilized.

James Comer read an email that was sent from Cuomo’s executive assistant, which said,

“This is gonna be the great debacle in the history books. The longer it lasts, the harder to correct. We have a better argument than we made. Get a report on the facts because

This legacy will overwhelm any positive accomplishment. Also how many covid people returned to the nursing homes in that period? How many nursing homes? Don’t you see how bad this is or do we admit error and give up?”

Comer repeated the last line of the email and asked Cuomo if the March 25 directive was an error. Cuomo said the statement made by his executive assistant was “tongue–in–cheek.”

Rep Elise Stefanik said the hearing was being held on behalf of the over 15,000 seniors who died in nursing homes as a result of Governor Cuomo’s March 25 directive.

“We now know irrefutably what New Yorkers have known for years,” Stefanik said. “That Governor Cuomo himself and his most senior aides ordered, directed, and executed this deadly executive order counter to CMS and CDC guidance.” 

Stefanik added, “The disgraced former governor and his top aides were caught covering up their culpability and guilt to selfishly save their shredded reputations.” She said Cuomo made a “deliberate decision to exclude certain deaths to hide and undercount the actual death counts.” Cuomo’s administration excluded out-of-facility deaths, according to the committee’s investigation.

Stefanik berated Cuomo for negotiating a book deal during the time that seniors were dying in nursing homes as a result of his executive order. Cuomo shot back, “You can’t make up facts.” He added, “This is not about political theater.” Stefanik asked Cuomo to turn around and apologize to the family members of seniors who died at nursing homes under his administration. He did not respond to Stefanik’s request.

Stefanik called Cuomo’s actions disgraceful and ended by saying, “There is a reason that you are the former governor of New York state and you will never hold elected office again.” The audience began to clap before a committee member said this violates the rules of decorum.

Cuomo was the governor at the start of the pandemic and resigned in August of 2021 following several claims of sexual harassment against him. Kathy Hochul became the governor upon Cuomo’s resignation and is still holding the highest government position in New York state. The select subcommittee announced a subpoena against Hochul for withholding documents related to Cuomo’s pandemic policies.

In the latest episode of The HighWire, Host Del Bigtree asked, “When do you think your government should admit they made a mistake?”

The post-hearing press release stated, “The Select Subcommittee is committed to conducting an after-action review of the COVID-19 pandemic and will continue to appropriately hold individuals — such as Mr. Cuomo and his administration — accountable.”

Chairman Wenstrup closed the meeting by saying that Cuomo was not on trial in the committee but said he neglected to participate in the discussion to help make sure this doesn’t happen again.