New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is fleeing the state, at least for a few hours, as his health care scandal appears to be getting worse.
Cuomo was due to travel to Washington on Friday for a planned meeting with President Biden on the US federal rescue plan to deal with the coronavirus.
The visit to the White House – Cuomo’s first since Biden took office on January 20 – comes at a time when Cuomo faces growing scrutiny in New York over coronavirus treatment, specifically his government’s security measures for state nursing homes.
On Thursday, Cuomo faced a bombshell New York Post report that said a Cuomo aide told New York Democrats that the Cuomo government allegedly withheld data on deaths in nursing homes in an attempt to avoid scrutiny by the Department of Health. Justice of former President Donald Trump.
CUOMO AIDE SAID THE NY DEMOCRATS ADMINISTRATION HIDDEN DOMESTIC NURSING DATA TO KEEP FROM TRUMP DOJ: REPORT
Cuomo officials feared that data on coronavirus-related deaths in nursing homes in the state could “be used against us,” the governor’s secretary, Melissa DeRosa, told state lawmakers, according to the Post.
DeRosa’s revelation followed previous reports that the state had underestimated coronavirus deaths in nursing homes by up to 50%, according to New York State Attorney General Letitia James.
The Post’s report drew immediate outrage from Congressional Republicans representing New York.
US Deputy Lee Zeldin, RN.Y., called for a federal investigation of obstruction of justice in the situation of the New York nursing home.
“The families of thousands of elderly people killed in New York deserve responsibility and justice for the real consequences of Governor Cuomo’s fatally flawed retirement home policy and ongoing attempts to cover it up. It is clear that what is happening here is criminal,” said Zeldin.
US Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, RN.Y., demanded on Thursday night that Cuomo and his “senior team” be “immediately prosecuted” at the state and federal levels because of deaths in nursing homes.
“This bombastic admission of a cover-up – and the secretary’s remarks to the governor indicating his intention to obstruct any federal investigation – is a stunning and criminal abuse of power,” wrote Stefanik in a statement.
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In Washington, on Friday, Cuomo was due to join a bipartisan group of other US mayors and governors in a meeting with Biden inside the Oval Office.
The meeting will focus on Biden’s American Rescue Plan for coronavirus vaccination and relief efforts.
Michael Ruiz of Fox News contributed to this story.