Andrew Cuomo's shockingly callous comments about COVID nursing home deaths revealed

Former New York governor Andrew Cuomo made shockingly callous comments as he testified about Covid-19 deaths in nursing homes, according to House republicans.

The Democrat reportedly asked, 'who cares?' while discussing the number of deaths in a closed-door meeting with the Republican-led House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic.

Back in June he testified behind closed doors for seven hours but that transcript has not been released. On Tuesday, the House subcommittee issued a series of X posts that claimed Cuomo was 'shockingly callous' and showed 'little remorse for the thousands of lives lost' during that testimony. 

According to the posts, Cuomo said: '…let's say there's a 3,000 [deaths] differential, 2500. Who cares? What difference does it make in any dimension to anyone about anything?'

The subcommittee's claims come as Cuomo has agreed to publicly testify about the roughly 15,000 deaths before the  congressional subcommittee on September 10, according to The New York Times. 

Former New York governor Andrew Cuomo will testify about deaths in nursing homes during the Covid-19 pandemic

The Democrat reportedly asked, 'who cares?' while discussing the number of deaths with the Republican-led House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic

The Cuomo administration came under significant scrutiny for a policy that at first required nursing homes to readmit recovering COVID-19 patients in an effort to avoid hospitals from becoming overwhelmed. That was on top of state fatality figures that significantly undercounted the deaths.

'Andrew Cuomo owes answers to the 15,000 families who lost loved ones in New York’s nursing homes during the Covid-19 pandemic,' said Ohio representative Brad Wenstrup, a republican who chairs the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic.

Cuomo said in June that the Trump administration should be the one held accountable for the deaths. 

'I think the federal government failed this nation, and it was abysmal,' Cuomo said.

'How did Covid get to the United States in December and nobody knew? How did it take so many months before we had testing — basic testing — in place? How did you have a president of the United States running around saying it’s going to be gone when the weather gets warm?'

About 15,000 people died in New York nursing homes during the Covid-19 pandemic 

A memorial wall was created in March 2021 to honor the 15,000 people who had died from COVID in nursing homes at that time 

An independent probe into Cuomo's handling of the pandemic concluded that Cuomo’s 'top down' approach of dictating public health policy through his office, rather than coordinating with state and local agencies, sewed confusion during the crisis.

In the state’s nursing homes, where some 15,000 people died, the administration’s lack of communication with agencies and facilities resulted in wasted resources and mistrust — not to mention anxiety for residents’ loved ones, according to the independent probe commissioned by current Governor Kathy Hochul in 2022.

However, the investigation by a consulting firm found that while the policies on how nursing homes should handle COVID-19 were “rushed and uncoordinated,” they were based on the best understanding of the science at the time. 

The Olson Group’s report, which praised the state’s speedy and comprehensive vaccination program in the facilities, said fatality rates there were ultimately consistent with the rest of the country. 

Cuomo resigned from office in August 2021, amid sexual harassment allegations, which he denies. Hochul, a fellow Democrat who had been Cuomo’s lieutenant, inherited the job and was reelected the following year.