Assemblyman Christopher DePhillips, who participated in Wednesday’s State Assembly hearings into the Murphy administration’s handling of New Jersey’s long-term care facilities, issued a statement in advance.
“I am angry we are having this hearing today without a single live witness from the Department of Health to answer questions,” said DePhillips (R-Bergen) on Wednesday. “As legislators, we have the right and duty to question the department about what happened in our long-term care facilities, and why thousands of innocent souls were lost. Our constituents expect us to exert ourselves into this process and get answers to the many questions we all have. The Legislature is a co-equal branch of government, and this hearing should be the beginning not the end of this inquiry.”
Murphy has been under fire from legislators and residents across the state over the deaths of thousands in nursing homes after he issued the order to send infected patients to understaffed and underprepared facilities.
When it was time to ask important questions about the administration’s handling of the nursing home crisis, Murphy and his team masked up and refused to participate.