Former New York Governor Cuomo Shifts Responsibility for COVID Policy to Unnamed Staff Member

Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo testified before a House committee on Tuesday that he was unaware of a controversial policy, reportedly edited by his own office, that required nursing homes to admit COVID-19 patients. This directive contributed to the deaths of 15,000 people in nursing homes, as reported by multiple sources.

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., informed the Washington Examiner that Cuomo placed the blame on an “unknown staffer” at the New York State Department of Health for the March 25, 2020 order.

Cuomo appeared for closed-door testimony before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic after being subpoenaed in March.

Despite his staff editing a draft of the order for over two days before issuance, Cuomo testified that he was not aware of the order until a month later. The Times Union reported this on Tuesday. Additionally, Health Department officials told the FBI that Cuomo was frequently on calls with his coronavirus task force, as per the Times Union.

Malliotakis expressed doubts about Cuomo’s claim of ignorance, pointing out that he held daily press briefings on the pandemic for several months. She questioned, “Is it that the governor did not know what was going on in his own state?”

Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., stated, “Anybody who knows anything about Andrew Cuomo and how New York State government was run knows that that is a flat-out lie.” Lawler’s statement was reported by CBS News.

An investigation by New York Attorney General Letitia James found that up to 9,800 people died in nursing homes directly due to the policy. The Examiner reported that the governor’s office had altered the number of nursing home deaths from the Health Department report.

“A lot of his answers today are putting the blame on others. At the end of the day, the buck stops with you,” Malliotakis remarked, as noted by CBS News.

Cuomo resigned from office in August 2021 following a sexual harassment scandal.