Republicans in the New York House delegation are calling on President Trump’s senior health officials, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Dr. Mehmet Oz, to investigate if former Governor Andrew Cuomo breached federal safety standards by directing that COVID-positive elderly patients be returned to nursing homes during the peak of the pandemic.
The request focuses on the contentious directive issued by the Cuomo administration on March 25, 2020 which mandated nursing homes to take in COVID patients discharged from hospitals.
“More than 15,000 nursing home residents in New York succumbed to COVID during the pandemic’s early phases. We have just marked the unsettling five-year anniversary of New York’s notorious March 25, 2020, order, which compelled ill-equipped nursing homes to accept 9,056 COVID-19 patients within a span of six weeks,” noted Congressman Mike Lawler in the letter.
“We are asking for a formal determination from your agencies regarding the compliance of the New York State Department of Health’s directive from March 25 with CMS [Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services] and CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] guidelines,” the letter dated September 29 stated, addressed to Kennedy, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, CMS Administrator Oz and Acting CDC Director Jim O’Neill.
This letter received support from GOP Representatives Elise Stefanik, Claudia Tenney, Andrew Garbarino, and Nick LaLota.
This appeal arises as Cuomo attempts to stage a comeback for the New York City mayoral race, running on an independent platform named “Fight and Deliver” after losing the Democratic primary to democratic socialist Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani from Queens.
Cuomo’s management of COVID remains a contrast to his current bid for public office.
Earlier on Wednesday, Cuomo publicly issued an apology to the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community for the lockdowns imposed during the pandemic that restricted large gatherings, which included religious services.
The lawmakers expressed frustration with Trump’s health officials for ignoring a similar request made on March 6 regarding the Cuomo administration’s nursing home policy.
“Over six months later, we still have not received a response,” they remarked.
This is a particularly sensitive topic for RFK Jr., as Cuomo was formerly his brother-in-law, having been married to his sister, Kerry Kennedy.
Despite a report from the GOP-led House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic determining that Cuomo’s directive was not in alignment with CMS and CDC guidance and that he displayed acts of “medical malpractice,” the agencies have yet to issue a definitive written ruling, according to the lawmakers.
The Justice Department is reportedly conducting a criminal probe into Cuomo for allegedly misleading Congress about the nursing home fatalities in New York during the pandemic—a claim he denies.
Families of nursing home residents who perished from COVID-19 praised House Republicans for addressing these concerns with Trump’s health officials.
“On behalf of the families affected, we are grateful to the New York Republican congressional delegation for giving voice to our loved ones who have been lost and helping COVID orphans seek the truth!” stated Peter Arbeeny, whose father, Norman, aged 89, died from COVID after a stay at a Brooklyn nursing home.
Start your day with all you need to know
Morning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos, and more.
Thanks for signing up!
The Cuomo campaign responded, affirming that the nursing home directive issued on March 25, 2020, was “consistent with federal guidance” and accused Republicans of politicizing this sensitive matter.
“Over 1 million Americans died due to the COVID pandemic, and our hearts go out to every family that lost a loved one—but sadly, the DOJ IG [Department of Justice Inspector General] confirmed that this suffering has been manipulated and politicized for electoral gain for years,” stated Cuomo spokesman Richard Azzopardi.
Azzopardi claimed that reviews by the DOJ IG, state attorney general, and New York State’s COVID-19 “After Action” report concluded that the nursing home admission policy under Cuomo “was consistent with federal guidance, mirrored to those issued by multiple states led by both parties, and there is no credible empirical evidence linking it to increased fatalities.”
“The Department of Justice investigated this issue three times, as did the Manhattan DA, who found no wrongdoing, and numerous civil lawsuits have been dismissed,” the Cuomo representative added.
However, during his testimony before the House COVID-19 panel, Cuomo admitted he had instructed his secretary to draft an email to his close associates labelling the March 25, 2020, directive as “the great debacle in the history books.”
Some independent investigations have suggested that the March 25, 2020, nursing home directive led to additional fatalities among nursing home residents during the six weeks it remained in effect.
