Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo testified on Capitol Hill on Tuesday where Republican lawmakers grilled him about the state’s COVID-19 response — in particular, on his handling of nursing home patients.
In a video message published before the closed-door hearing with the U.S. House of Representatives Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, Cuomo denied any wrongdoing in the scandal that emerged over nursing homes accepting COVID-positive patients.
“Republicans claimed nursing homes were forced to take COVID-positive people by New York’s advisory," Cuomo said. "And many, many believed it. That claim was a factual and legal impossibility.”
Cuomo has maintained that the state followed federal guidelines set by Medicare and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He called the scrutiny he received in 2021 and beyond "the most destructive example of the Republicans' politicization, deception and abuse of government during COVID."
A 2021 report by New York Attorney General Letitia James — a fellow Democrat — found the state's health department underreported pandemic-related nursing home deaths by up to 50%.
At a news conference after Cuomo's testimony, Republican lawmakers accused the ex-governor of lying, obstructing justice and orchestrating a cover-up.
Cuomo resigned in August 2021 amid a wave of sexual harassment claims, months after becoming a national figure during the pandemic.
