Former NY Gov. meets with House Select Subcommittee over handling of COVID-19

Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo spoke Tuesday before a congressional subcommittee to answer questions about how he handled the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The Department of Justice found no wrongdoing," Cuomo said to reporters defending his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic before the hearing. "An investigation said explicitly we followed the federal guidance."

Cuomo has been highly criticized for how he handled nursing homes and for instructing them to accept residents recovering from COVID after they were released from hospitals.

Rep. Rich McCormick (R-GA) was at Tuesday's hearing and said nursing home residents with COVID should have been isolated.

Rep. Raul Ruiz (D-CA) said they have been asking numerous questions about testing and the partnership with the Federal Government during the interview with Cuomo.

The governor also answered questions about the number of nursing home deaths which State Attorney General Letitia James said in 2021 were off by about 50% because New York was only counting those who died on facility grounds and not in hospitals.

Cuomo responded to reporters asking him about the numbers and said, "At one time in this country 50% of the deaths were in nursing homes so it was a national tragedy."