Statement from Senators Alexis Weik and Phil Boyle

Yesterday, the New York Post reported that the Governor’s top aide admitted in a closed door meeting with Democratic elected officials that the Cuomo Administration intentionally misled the public on the number of deaths in nursing homes out of fear of a federal investigation.  This follows the Attorney General’s blistering report last week that the Cuomo Administration grossly undercounted the number of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes.  

“Our Senate Republican Conference has been calling for months for greater transparency in the true number of nursing home deaths due to COVID-19.  We have called for public hearings, we have called for the Senate to use its subpoena power, and we have demanded that the Legislature remove the Governor’s unilateral executive authority by advancing legislation 14 times to do so—with the Democrats voting the measure down each time. 

"The Governor and his Administration have for months failed to be forthright with the public on how it handled COVID-19 patients in nursing homes.  If what the Post reported is in fact true, independent investigations at both the Federal and State levels must take place to find out what the Cuomo Administration knew and when.  The Legislature must assert its authority as a co-equal branch of government by immediately reconvening and rescinding the Governors emergency powers."