For several hours on Wednesday, Gov. Kathy Hochul's choice to lead New York's sprawling health department took questions from state lawmakers, some of whom questioned whether she would be an independent voice in the new administration. 

Bassett, as she's done before, pledged to do so. 

"This is the kind of independence we need from public health, for people to give advice without fear or favor," she said. "That's safest for all of us."

But the question underscores the division among Republicans and Democrats in New York state government over how to continue to respond to the public health crisis. Republicans are increasingly restive over mandates for vaccinations, especially among health care workers amid a shortage at hospitals across New York. 

Progressives, meanwhile, are calling for an even bigger boost of pandemic-related financial assistance for undocumented New Yorkers, as well as tenants and landlords. 

What they decide in the state budget by the end of March could affect the lives of millions of New Yorkers along the way. 

As Bassett spoke with state lawmakers, Republicans in the state Senate criticized the Hochul administration's mandates for vaccinating health care workers and having them receive booster shots, tying the policy to the reduction in staffed bed capacity at dozens of hospitals as the omicron variant has surged. 

A fast moving variant, though considered less severe for those who have been vaccinated and boosted, has still led to a spike in hospitalizations and to the closures of some schools in New York. Hochul's office reported 12,027 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 either because of the virus or having tested positive upon admission. 

The spike in COVID-19 cases remains above 20,000 positive cases, but is nowhere near the record levels at the height of the spread of omicron. 

"We are not in the same space today that we were in the spring of 2020," said Senate Minority Leader Robert Ortt.  

Bassett was selected by Hochul last year to replace Commissioner Howard Zucker, a holdover from Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration. Zucker has drawn bipartisan criticism for the decisions made by Cuomo during the pandemic for nursing homes as well as the release of data viewed skeptically by health policy experts. 

Republicans like Ortt don't want to repeat the dynamic. 

"She's the acting commissioner, so we already have a little bit a preview of what she has been doing and will look to continue to do and I think that's given our conference pause on her confirmation," Ortt said. 

Democrats like Assemblyman Harvey Epstein, meanwhile, believe the Hochul administration needs to do more to help those still struggling. The Manhattan Democrat was among the advocates and state lawmakers calling for the replenishment of a fund that benefitted workers not included in federal pandemic aid, many of whom are undocumented immigrants. 

"People are still in crisis," Epstein said. "This is a time when we have economic opportunity to help those people who are struggling." 

Hochul in her budget included $2 billion in unallocated money that could be used to help undocumented immigrants or tenants and lanlords. But Epstein believes more money is needed for both efforts.

"Two billion is a great start. But it's not where we need to end up," he said. "We need much more money in this budget. We need $3 billion for excluded workers, we need $3 billion for rent relief, that doesn't include the money small business relief that's still necessary out there."