Cuomo’s COVID-19 House Testimony

Cuomo’s COVID-19 House Testimony: 3 Takeaways

Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo faced bipartisan congressional scrutiny as he testified before the House on his early handling of the pandemic, with particular attention paid to how his office managed nursing homes.

Cuomo’s presence at the hearing was preceded by a subpoena issued by subcommittee Chair Brad Wenstrup, a damaging investigative report, and several dozen hours of testimony given earlier this year by Cuomo and former staffers of his administration.

Fights Over Wording

Wenstrup dedicated a significant portion of his time pressing Cuomo on the language used in his directive for nursing homes to accept patients testing positive for SARS-CoV-2. In March 2020, Cuomo issued a directive stating that nursing homes were to accept patients from hospitals who were deemed medically stable to return. The memorandum read: "No resident shall be denied re-admission or admission to the NH solely based on a confirmed or suspected diagnosis of COVID-19. NHs are prohibited from requiring a hospitalized resident who is determined medically stable to be tested for COVID-19 prior to admission or readmission."

Cuomo maintained that he was following federal guidance, but Wenstrup took issue with this defense, noting the difference in language used by federal authorities. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued guidance stating that nursing homes "can accept a resident diagnosed with COVID-19 and still under Transmission Based Precautions for COVID-19 as long as the facility can follow CDC guidance for Transmission-Based Precautions."

When pressed by Wenstrup, Cuomo said he did not speak with CMS or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) before issuing his nursing home directive. He further defended the directive by arguing that New York state laws requiring nursing facilities to deny admission to people known to have communicable diseases were still in effect at the time.

Blame Trump

Throughout the hearing, Cuomo and Democrats on the panel repeatedly pointed to former President Trump’s conduct during the pandemic response. Cuomo accused Trump of "willfully deceiving the American people" and said that the former president’s administration had made early blunders that exacerbated issues such as a lack of personal protective equipment.

Subcommittee ranking member Raul Ruiz said in his opening remarks that the lack of personal protective equipment was exacerbated "at the hand of former President Trump and his administration’s early blunders." Rep. Jamie Raskin, ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, accused the GOP majority on the panel of deciding to "evade and bypass the central events of the epidemic for totally political reasons," including "Donald Trump’s reckless and incompetent pandemic response."

Questions About Numbers

Another primary issue for Republicans at the hearing was whether Cuomo purposely obscured the number of COVID-19 deaths occurring in New York nursing homes. The staff memorandum released by the subcommittee concluded that Cuomo’s office decided to remove out-of-facility deaths, those that occurred after nursing home residents were transferred out of the facility.

Cuomo told the panel that he was not trying to hide deaths but wanted to avoid reporting inaccuracies. "Let’s go count those that were in hospitals, what they call out of facility," Cuomo said. "Those numbers, in my opinion, were very sketchy and they, depending on the day, they moved around a lot. I was not going to report inaccurate information, so we specifically said, here is the nursing home number without the outer facility number and when we have it, we will provide it."

When asked by Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) why it took his office until February 2021 to include out-of-facility deaths when the initial numbers were released in July 2020, Cuomo again directed blame toward Trump, saying the investigation the Justice Department had launched into New York at the time led to his office auditing the numbers.

Conclusion

The hearing highlighted the challenges faced by Cuomo’s administration during the early stages of the pandemic and the controversial decisions made regarding nursing homes. The debate surrounding the handling of the pandemic continues to be a contentious issue, with both sides presenting valid arguments.

FAQs

Q: What was the main issue at the hearing?
A: The main issue at the hearing was Cuomo’s handling of the pandemic, particularly his early decision to allow nursing homes to accept patients testing positive for COVID-19.

Q: What was Cuomo’s defense for his directive?
A: Cuomo defended his directive by saying it was based on federal guidance and that he was trying to avoid reporting inaccuracies.

Q: Who else was criticized during the hearing?
A: Former President Trump was repeatedly criticized during the hearing for his administration’s handling of the pandemic.

Q: What was the focus of the Republican opposition?
A: The Republican opposition focused on Cuomo’s alleged efforts to obscure the number of COVID-19 deaths occurring in New York nursing homes.