This story was updated with comment from Pascrell and Gottheimer at 4:05 p.m.
Republicans celebrated a new probe into the state’s handling of COVID-19 in its veteran memorial homes launched by Department of Justice Tuesday.
“It is unfortunate that it has come down to this, that the federal government is looking into the state’s troubling incompetency. At least somebody is listening,” State Sen. Joe Pennacchio (R-Montville). “Along with colleagues in the Senate Republican Caucus, I have been saying all along that the Administration’s lack of transparency was troubling and unacceptable. We now know that they were not forthcoming with federal investigators.
On Thursday, Politico New Jersey reported the Department of Justice launched a civil rights investigation into the deaths at veterans homes, citing a lack of candor from the administration.
In a letter to Murphy, the department said the state failed to provide requested information in an earlier probe. The front office, Justice said, referred investigators to covid.nj.gov. It also cited recent reports suggesting a higher-than-reported death count at homes in Paramus and Menlo Park.
The state has reported 143 confirmed deaths between the two homes, though officials have suggested that death toll could be as high as 190.
The administration, which earlier this month fired the administrators responsible for the two homes, called the department’s probe, which came a week before the election, nakedly political. Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-Paterson) joined the administration there.
“The only goal must be protecting our neighbors, not using their lives as political pawns,” he said. “Every day, the actions of the Justice Department under Bill Barr plumb new depths. The Department should not abuse its power and use the nursing home crisis as a political cudgel. I am demanding a federal review of public and private nursing homes by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which has jurisdiction over all long-term care facilities, to restore important regulations weakened by the Trump Administration that helped allow this crisis to take too many American lives.”
Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-Wyckoff) met the news with less outrage.
“Given the massive loss of life of so many of our veterans, and the federal report outlining failures at the facility, I was glad to see that the federal government has now announced an investigation into the state-run veterans home,” he said, later asking the department “ensure that these are not politicized investigations.”
Republicans sided with Gottheimer, but unlike him they took shots at the governor.
“As more details emerge about the Governor’s reckless disregard for these patients and staff, it’s clear that he didn’t grasp the complexities of the virus, prioritize our most vulnerable population, appreciate the magnitude of his March 31, 2020 ‘do not test’ order or care about its deadly effect,” Republican State Chairman Doug Steinhardt said. “What’s worse, he’s covering up his failures and scapegoating his subordinates.”
Former Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli, the only Republican who has formally announced a gubernatorial campaign, was no exception, though he added a call for Murphy to aid the department’s investigation without any dithering.
“The Governor’s mismanagement of our state run nursing and veterans’ homes has had fatal consequences. His lack transparency in its aftermath is beyond unacceptable — frankly it puts more lives at risk,” he said. “The Governor must fully cooperate with the DOJ investigation announced today to prevent more needless death in our state run veteran & nursing homes.