House committee subpoenas Andrew Cuomo over COVID-19 nursing home policies

The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic has subpoenaed former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to testify on May 24 about his COVID-19 nursing home policies.

In 2020, Cuomo directed New York nursing homes to accept patients believed to have COVID-19 – a decision that has subjected his administration to fierce criticism. In a letter on Tuesday, the committee told the former New York governor that "misguided decision effectively admitted thousands of COVID-19 positive patients into nursing homes, causing predictable but deadly consequences for New York’s most vulnerable."

The committee also told Cuomo that his testimony is "vital to our investigation into the effectiveness of federal guidance and regulations implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic regarding the protection of nursing home residents."

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The governor previously deflected blame over the situation by claiming that his state followed guidance from the federal government. The Tuesday letter acknowledged that Cuomo maintained his decisions were "consistent with CMS and CDC guidance."

FILE - This Wednesday May 27, 2020, file photo shows New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo during a news conference in Washington. A prosecutor investigating accusations that former Gov. Cuomo groped a woman asked a judge for more time, saying the criminal complaint filed in late October 2021 by the local sheriff was "potentially defective." (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File) (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

"If you think there was a mistake, then go talk to the federal government," he said at a press conference in 2021. "It’s not about pointing fingers or blame, this became a political football." 

Cuomo's administration was also criticized at the time for underreporting the amount of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes by as much as 50%.

In a social media post, the committee used a harsher tone against Cuomo.

"Governor Cuomo forced New York nursing homes to accept COVID-19 positive patients. Americans died," the committee wrote in a post on X. "Accountability and honesty are non-negotiable."

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New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo greets people after speaking at a vaccination site on Monday, March 8, 2021, in New York.  ((AP Photo/Seth Wenig, Pool))

Subcommittee Chair Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, wrote that "[t]he Select Subcommittee specifically requested your testimony because it was your administration that issued the March 25, 2020 nursing home order stating, in relevant part, that ‘[n]o resident shall be denied re-admission or admission to the [nursing home] solely based on confirmed or suspect[ed] diagnosis of COVID-19.’"

"This misguided decision effectively admitted thousands of COVID-19 positive patients into nursing homes, causing predictable but deadly consequences for New York’s most vulnerable," Wenstrup continued. "Of course, you have argued – even after leaving office – that the March 25 Order was consistent with CMS and CDC guidance. In addition, you have argued that it was the nursing home staff – not your Administration’s order – that was responsible for the resulting deaths in the nursing homes."

"In addition to the March 25 Order itself, there is also troubling evidence suggesting the Cuomo Administration at best downplayed its impacts and at worst covered them up," he also said.

In an email to Fox News Digital, Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi of Bulldog Strategies called the committee's subpoena an "obvious press charade."

Healthcare workers wheel the body of deceased person from the Wyckoff Heights Medical Center during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, New York, U.S., April 2, 2020.  (REUTERS/Brendan Mcdermid)

"The simple fact remains that this issue has been reviewed three times by the Department of Justice under Trump and Biden, as well as Congress and the Manhattan District Attorney who found no there there," Azzopardi said.

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"New York followed the guidance put forth by the Trump administration in March of 2020 — as did other Democratic and Republican states. If they have a problem with that, they should look in the mirror. Congress knows this, but it’s not about the facts, this is about politics."

Fox News' Brooke Singman contributed to this report.