White House press secretary Jen Psaki evaded a question on Sunday about whether President Biden still considers New York Governor Andrew Cuomo “the gold standard” for leadership during the coronavirus pandemic.
During an appearance on ABC’s “This Week” program, Psaki did not directly answer a question from Washington Chief Correspondent Jonathan Karl, who pointed to Biden’s comments in April 2020.
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At the time, Biden said that the “New York governor did an incredible job” and that he thinks Cuomo is “a kind of gold standard”.
Karl pointed to the New York Governor’s alleged low count of deaths in nursing homes and the fact that he would have deceived state lawmakers.
“So does President Biden still consider Andrew Cuomo ‘the gold standard’ when it comes to leadership in the pandemic?” Asked Karl.
“We work with Governor Cuomo in the same way that we work with governors across the country,” replied Psaki. “He is also the president of the NGA [National Governors Association] therefore, it plays an important role in ensuring that we are closely coordinating and receiving assistance for people in your state and other states in the country and we will continue to do so. “
Psaki went on to say that “there will, of course, be a process”, which she said will include investigations, adding that “we will leave this to others to determine, the appropriate police authorities to determine how this path is going to move forward.”
She then said that “we will continue to work with a number of governors, including, of course, Governor Cuomo, because we think that the people of New York, the people of the states across the country need help, not just to overcome the pandemic, but to overcome this difficult economic moment and this is where our focus remains. “
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Karl pressed Psaki on the subject, reiterating his question.
“But Jen, my question was, does President Biden still believe that Andrew Cuomo … represents the gold standard in leadership during this pandemic?” he asked, adding that he was looking for an “yes” or “no” answer.
“It doesn’t always have to be a yes or no answer,” replied Psaki. “I think the president is focused on his goal, his goal as president of the United States.”
“He will continue to work with Governor Cuomo in the same way that he will continue to work with governors across the country,” she continued. “And I’m not here to give new labels or names to the president, I’m here to communicate to you what our focuses are and what your goals are as president”.
Cuomo has faced resignations since the Associated Press reported that his government significantly underestimated the number of recovering COVID-19 patients who were sent back to nursing homes to recover under a controversial order he implemented last March. The Associated Press found that nearly 15,000 long-term care patients died of COVID-19 in nursing homes, out of the approximately 8,500 deaths previously reported.
Criticism intensified after Cuomo’s aide, Melissa DeRosa, admitted during a private call that the government withheld data requested by New York state legislatures because they feared they could be “used against us” by the Department of Justice of the United States. then President Donald Trump.
On Monday, Cuomo gave a press conference in which the New York Democratic governor, in trouble, admitted that he should have acted earlier to release relevant data related to COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes amid growing criticism of the form how your government handled the scandal.
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The governor sought to clarify his team’s actions at the news conference, telling reporters that the Department of Justice and state legislatures sent requests for data at the same time last summer. Cuomo said his team chose to prioritize the federal inquiry and informed state lawmakers that their request for data would be “paused” in the meantime.
But several Democratic lawmakers, including New York state wardens Jessica Ramos, Alessandra Biaggi and Gustavo Rivera, denied that Cuomo’s office informed them of his decision.
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Cuomo said that state legislatures were “wrong” in suggesting that they were never informed about the delay in requesting their data. He has repeatedly denied that his office has withheld or misrepresented data on deaths in nursing homes.
Thomas Barrabi of Fox News contributed to this report.