Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-OH), chair of the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, announced Tuesday that former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo will testify publicly before Congress for the first time about his handling of the pandemic.
Cuomo is set to appear on September 10, where he will face questions regarding his administration’s directive that required New York nursing homes and long-term care facilities to admit COVID-19 positive patients—a policy deemed “unscientific” by critics, according to a press release from the committee.
Earlier this year, Cuomo participated in a seven-hour, closed-door, transcribed interview with the Select Subcommittee. The panel has also conducted transcribed interviews with nine high-ranking former Cuomo Administration officials, including former Secretary to the Governor, Melissa DeRosa, and former New York Health Department Commissioner, Dr. Howard Zucker.
The release states that transcripts from all interviews related to the New York nursing home crisis will be made public before Cuomo’s hearing.
“Andrew Cuomo owes answers to the 15,000 families who lost loved ones in New York’s nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Wenstrup said. “On September 10, Americans will have the opportunity to hear directly from the former governor about New York’s potentially fatal nursing home policies.”
Wenstrup further criticized Cuomo’s previous testimony, stating, “During closed-door testimony, Mr. Cuomo was shockingly callous when pressed to explain discrepancies in nursing home death counts, repeatedly deflected responsibility for the nursing home directive, and most egregiously, showed little remorse for the thousands of lives lost.
A true leader owns up to his mistakes and takes responsibility for wrongdoing. That is not what we saw from Mr. Cuomo during his term as governor nor during his transcribed interview. We hope that during his public hearing next week, Mr. Cuomo will stop dodging accountability and honestly answer the American people.”
The hearing will be open to both the public and the press and will be live-streamed.