New York State Democrats lashed out at Gov. Andrew Cuomo Monday after he made a disputed claim about his administration’s handling of requests for data on COVID-19-related deaths at nursing homes.
Cuomo said any disconnect between his office and state lawmakers was the result of a “breakdown in communication between the staff and members of the legislature.” However, several Democratic lawmakers, including New York State Sen. Jessica Ramos, denied that Cuomo’s office ever informed them of its decision.
“Trash. No one believes you,” Ramos wrote on Twitter.
FAST FACTS
- Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday that his state did “the exact opposite” of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.
- New York State Sens. Alessandra Biaggi and Gustavo Rivera, both Democrats, also took aim at Cuomo’s remarks.
The governor had sought to clarify his team’s actions, telling reporters at a press conference that the Department of Justice and state legislatures submitted requests for data at the same time last summer.
Cuomo said his team opted to prioritize the federal inquiry and informed state lawmakers their request for data would be “paused” in the meantime.
“We gave precedence to the DOJ. We told the assembly that, we told the Senate that and that’s what we did. We were also in the midst of managing a pandemic,” Cuomo said at the press conference.
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