Fox News Hires Former Cuomo Aide Melissa DeRosa, Sparking Criticism Over COVID Nursing Home Scandal
Fox News has hired Melissa DeRosa, a former senior aide to Democratic ex-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, as a contributor and added her to the lineup of its new podcast, The Girls. The announcement has drawn criticism from former Fox News weather anchor Janice Dean, who has spent years seeking accountability for New York’s handling of nursing home deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fox News Media announced DeRosa’s appointment on September 28, confirming that she would appear in the premiere of The Girls, a weekly conversation series featuring a rotating group of female commentators and personalities. The first episode debuted October 1. (Fox News)
The hiring brings a former Cuomo administration official into a network whose audience includes many critics of the former governor’s pandemic policies. DeRosa’s role has also renewed scrutiny of the controversies surrounding her time in Albany, including the administration’s reporting of COVID-19 deaths among nursing home residents.
Janice Dean Criticizes Fox News’ Decision
Dean responded sharply to the announcement, citing DeRosa’s role in the Cuomo administration during the pandemic and the controversy over its handling of nursing home death data.
Dean’s in-laws died after contracting COVID-19 while living in New York long-term care facilities. Their deaths became a central part of her public campaign for answers about the state’s pandemic response.
Dean has also criticized DeRosa over allegations that Cuomo’s administration sought to discredit women who accused the former governor of sexual harassment.
Her comments reflect longstanding criticism of officials who helped manage the administration’s response to the pandemic and the subsequent controversies over public disclosures.
The accusations should be distinguished from the findings of official investigations, which examined several aspects of Cuomo’s conduct and the administration’s handling of nursing home information.
What Happened to New York’s Nursing Home Death Data?
The controversy intensified in February 2021, when DeRosa acknowledged during a private call with Democratic state lawmakers that the administration had delayed providing requested nursing home death figures.
According to contemporaneous reporting, DeRosa said the administration had feared that information supplied to lawmakers could be used against it in a possible investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice under then-President Donald Trump.
DeRosa later said the administration had prioritized responding to federal authorities and had not been able to fulfill the Legislature’s request as quickly as lawmakers wanted. (New York State Senate-hosted reporting)
The issue was not simply a dispute over the timing of a response. New York’s published nursing home death totals initially excluded residents who died in hospitals after being transferred from nursing homes.
In January 2021, the state attorney general’s office reported that the state’s published figures substantially undercounted deaths among nursing home residents when hospital deaths were included. The findings intensified demands for a more complete accounting of the pandemic’s toll.
The discrepancy became a major political issue as lawmakers, families and advocacy groups pressed the Cuomo administration to explain how the numbers had been compiled and why the information had not been released earlier.
State Assembly Investigation Examined Cuomo Administration
In November 2021, the New York State Assembly Judiciary Committee released a report following its investigation into Cuomo’s conduct and the operation of his administration.
The inquiry covered allegations of sexual harassment and other misconduct, the handling of nursing home information during the pandemic, the production and promotion of Cuomo’s memoir, and other matters involving state government.
The investigation concluded that the available evidence supported serious concerns about Cuomo’s conduct and the administration’s transparency. The committee’s report also examined allegations that state resources had been used in connection with the governor’s memoir. (New York State Assembly)
Cuomo resigned in August 2021 after an investigation by New York Attorney General Letitia James found that he had sexually harassed multiple women. Cuomo denied sexually harassing anyone.
DeRosa, who had served as secretary to the governor and was the first woman to hold that position, resigned during the same period of upheaval in the administration.
Although DeRosa was a senior aide during these events, the findings concerning Cuomo should not automatically be treated as findings that DeRosa personally committed every act attributed to the administration.
Fox News Launches The Girls
Fox News described The Girls as a personality-driven program bringing together women from news, politics, sports, comedy and culture for unscripted conversations.
The show’s format extends beyond political news, covering subjects such as relationships, parenting, careers, money and popular culture. New episodes are scheduled for Thursdays across Fox News Digital, YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts. (Fox News Media)
The premiere featured DeRosa alongside Fox News personalities Rachel Campos-Duffy, Harris Faulkner and Kat Timpf, as well as former ESPN host Samantha Ponder.
The debut episode discussed several subjects, including the Lindsay Clancy case, children’s media personality Ms. Rachel’s political activism and questions surrounding parenting and housing affordability. (Fox News)
DeRosa’s appointment also gives Fox News a contributor with direct experience in Democratic politics and state government. Her background differs from that of the network’s regular on-air personalities, although Fox has not characterized her hiring as a response to the criticism surrounding Cuomo’s administration.
DeRosa’s Move From Albany to Fox News
Before joining Fox News, DeRosa held senior positions in Cuomo’s administration, including secretary to the governor. She was a prominent figure in the governor’s inner circle and frequently served as a public representative of the administration during the pandemic.
Her tenure placed her at the center of several major controversies, including the release of nursing home data and the administration’s response to allegations of sexual harassment against Cuomo.
The scrutiny followed DeRosa after she left government, particularly from families who lost relatives in long-term care facilities and advocates who sought a fuller accounting of the state’s pandemic response.
Her new role at Fox News puts her back in a prominent public-facing position, this time as a contributor and participant in a recurring podcast.
A Hiring Decision That Revives Unresolved Questions
Fox News’ decision to hire DeRosa is a personnel move, but her previous government role gives the appointment a broader political context.
For Dean and other critics, the nursing home controversy remains a deeply personal issue involving the deaths of vulnerable residents and the government’s responsibility to provide accurate public information. For Fox News, DeRosa’s appointment adds a former senior Democratic official to its expanding podcast and contributor lineup.
The central facts remain clear: DeRosa was a senior Cuomo aide, the administration faced substantial criticism over nursing home death reporting, and official investigations examined Cuomo’s conduct and the administration’s transparency.
What remains a matter of public debate is how much responsibility individual officials should bear for those failures—and how media organizations should weigh a prospective contributor’s record when making hiring decisions.
As The Girls begins its weekly run, DeRosa’s appointment has ensured that the controversies surrounding her time in New York government remain part of the conversation about her return to public life.
Benjamin Harris is a RapidReports front page contributor and editor,proud father of four.
