Andrew Cuomo squeezed by critics on left and right over New York coronavirus debacle

Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, once seen as a lock for a fourth term, is under fire from both sides of the political spectrum over his handling of COVID-19 in New York.

Republican and Democratic state lawmakers in New York lashed out at the three-term New York governor after he claimed at a press conference Monday that the legislators were kept in the dark about a Department of Justice investigation into coronavirus-related nursing home deaths as a result of “a breakdown in communication between the staff and members of the legislature.”

Cuomo also blamed the thousands of nursing home deaths on staff working at the homes, not his order that mandated COVID-positive patients to be moved into nursing homes with elderly residents.

“Trash. No one believes you,” Democratic state Sen. Jessica Ramos, who heads the committee on labor, responded to Cuomo.

State Sen. Gustavo Rivera also disputed claims by Cuomo that lawmakers’ legislative staff were informed about the Justice Department’s "pause" in responding to lawmakers' requests for nursing home data.

Democratic Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie’s communications director, Mike Whyland, stated Cuomo’s office never informed their office about the DOJ inquiry either, but the “Governor's office reached out to staff and said they needed more time to supply information requested by the members. They were not asking for permission, and it wasn't a negotiation. It was merely a heads up.”

The criticism comes as Cuomo gears up for reelection in 2022, seeking a fourth term. He's trying to eclipse the tenure in office of his father, former Gov. Mario Cuomo. The 1984 Democratic National Convention keynote speaker won the office in 1982 and held it for 12 years, but he lost reelection in the 1994 Republican wave to George Pataki, at the time a little-known state legislator.

Now, Republicans in both houses of the Legislature wanted Andrew Cuomo’s powers reigned in for several months and pushed for Democrats to take action this week. Senate officials are currently in talks over a potential bill.

Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay, a Republican, called on Cuomo to release the information that was ultimately given to federal authorities “if the federal Department of Justice occupied so much time and attention.”

Barclay added, “The state Department of Health has more than 5,000 professionals working for the agency. That would seem to be enough manpower to ensure requests are fulfilled in an efficient manner.”

Senate Minority Leader Robert Ortt, a Republican, says Senate Republicans were also never notified about the DOJ inquiry into the nursing homes.

“People want the truth, and the only way that can be provided is through investigations by the Department of Justice and the attorney general,” Ortt said.

Fourteen Democrats joined with Republicans in the New York State Senate to call for a removal of Cuomo’s executive powers related to the pandemic before it expires at the end of April.

Their numbers are enough to give a majority by two votes, but Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart Cousins has not signaled support for such an action presently.

Cousins, however, released a statement about the governor’s actions last Friday after news broke that Cuomo’s press secretary told New York Democrats that the administration hid the true number of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes from the public due to the DOJ inquiry that the administration was under at the time.

“Crucial information should never be withheld from entities that are empowered to pursue oversight. This was always about getting the truth and allowing information to guide our response,” Cousins said. "That is why we had multiple hearings and another hearing scheduled for this month. And why we requested this information in the first place."

Several Democratic Assembly members stepped forward last Friday to question Cuomo's performance, including Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara and Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner.

"The Governor withheld information from the Legislature for months, and when we tried to exert oversight powers, he simply ignored us. That’s not transparency. It's secrecy," Santabarbara said.

According to one Albany staffer, though, while a handful of Assembly Democrats, such as Santabarbara and Woerner, are individually vocal about the issue, their numbers are not currently enough to form a majority with the lower chamber’s Republican members.