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Even before Andrew Cuomo declared he was in the race to be mayor of New York City, he was saddled with baggage that might have squashed the hopes of a lesser candidate. Still, the questions about how Cuomo handled the placement of senior citizens in nursing homes in New York State in the spring of 2020 are a huge millstone around his neck in the eyes of some voters. GOP legislators are asking a similar question; do they want a candidate with questionable judgement running America’s largest city? US Representative Mike Lawler (R-NY 17) is firmly in that category. Speaking on 710 WOR’s Mendte in the Morning program, Lawler says Cuomo has not been forthcoming with his handling of what he did five years ago.
As Lawler told host Larry Mendte, “We’re looking for CMS and CDC to give definitively an answer as to whether or not Andrew Cuomo, with his March 25th nursing home directive, adhered to or violated federal guidance, and we want CMS to definitively say that once and for all. Obviously, Cuomo did not follow the guidance and it resulted in the death of 15,000 seniors, who were put into nursing homes with Covid, and it was a disaster, and ultimately, we know that in the investigation that Congress conducted last term that he lied before Congress.”
Cuomo has dismissed any allegations to his Covid response as political; Lawler strongly disagrees. “Frankly, had the governor taken some level of responsibility and acknowledged the mistake… then I think most people would accept that this happened at the height of a pandemic, it was difficult circumstances, and I think people would be a little more understanding and forgiving, But it wasn’t just the decision; it was the aftermath, it was the cover-up, it was the changing of numbers, specifically to hide the fact that 15,000 seniors died as a result of this directive.”
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