Tag: Sen. McConnell

McConnell’s rejection of federal aid for states risks causing a depression, analysts say

Washington Post logoSenate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) would rather see states declare bankruptcythan give them federal aid to deal with the economic collapse triggered by the coronaviruspandemic.

That’s a recipe for turning a potentially short recession into a prolonged depression, according to officials and analysts.

The question of whether Congress and the White House should provide relief funding to state and local governments — as the feds have done already for private business — is about to reach a showdown in Washington. Continue reading.

McConnell state bankruptcy remarks raise constitutional questions

The Hill logoMunicipal finance experts say that it may be unconstitutional for Congress to allow states to declare bankruptcy, and that even if it is constitutional, it would be a bad idea.

Experts on state and local government finances say that Congress may not have the right to grant states the ability to file for bankruptcy under the Constitution. They also argued that bankruptcy wouldn’t be particularly helpful in addressing states’ coronavirus-related challenges.

“Bankruptcy is just not a viable solution to the issues state and local governments are facing,” said Michael Decker, senior vice president for federal policy at the Bond Dealers of America. Continue reading.

Mitch McConnell’s True Colors

If you’re listening to politicians, you hear them sing bipartisan praise for the heroes who march bravely into the viral storm every day. They constantly eulogize doctors and nurses, cops and firefighters, but also those who maintain essential services amid the coronavirus catastrophe — from grocery clerks to delivery drivers to sanitation workers, train conductors and traffic engineers. Suddenly, we have all realized that those good people, whose thankless toil we took for granted, deserve our gratitude and respect.

Or so it seemed until Mitch McConnell opened his mouth and proved that, to him at least, those civic accolades mean nothing.

When the Senate majority leader told a right-wing radio host this week that he opposes any further federal aid to states and localities, encouraging them to seek bankruptcy protection instead, his message could not have been clearer. As far as McConnell is concerned, every city and town in America devastated by the coronavirus, and every state that will be, should simply drop dead — and so should its heroic employees. His sneering reference to “blue state bailouts” piled demagogic insult onto the grave injury he means to inflict. Continue reading.

McConnell Got Pandemic Funds For Kentucky — But Opposes ‘Blue State Bailouts’

Last month, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell asked the federal government for emergency funding to help his state of Kentucky combat the coronavirus.

“As of March 24, 2020, Kentucky has confirmed 124 cases of COVID-19 and 4 fatalities,” McConnell and the other members of Kentucky’s congressional delegation wrote to Donald Trump.

When the White House approved funding, McConnell thanked Trump for the federal government’s aid to Kentucky. Continue reading.

McConnell sparks bipartisan backlash with state bankruptcy remarks

The Hill logoSenate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is facing blowback from across the political spectrum after he suggested states should be able to declare bankruptcy as they face severe budget holes sparked by the coronavirus outbreak. 

The debate over providing more federal funding for state and local governments is emerging as an early lightning rod in the next coronavirus bill, with Democrats and some Republicans asking for hundreds of billions in additional assistance.

But McConnell sparked his own political firestorm when, in response to a question from radio host Hugh Hewitt, he said he supported letting states declare bankruptcy and positioned Republicans as cautious of providing them with additional federal relief.  Continue reading.

McConnell takes flak after suggesting bankruptcy for states rather than bailouts

Washington Post logoSenate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) drew flak Thursday from governors in both parties after suggesting that states hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak should be allowed to seek bankruptcy protections rather than be given a federal bailout.

McConnell’s comments, made during a radio interview Wednesday, came amid a renewed push from states for help from Washington to cover lost tax revenue that has been among the dire consequences of the ongoing pandemic.

“This is really one of the dumb ideas of all time,” New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D) said during a briefing in Albany in which he warned that bankruptcy declarations by multiple states would lead to “a collapse of this national economy.” Continue reading.

McConnell sets up Tuesday session, buys time for virus aid deal

Sticking points on aid bill include funding for state and local governments, and how virus testing money would be distributed

Congressional leaders and the White House were unable to reach agreement on a nearly $500 billion coronavirus relief package before the Senate met for a brief session Monday, blowing past a deadline both parties hoped they’d be able to meet.

Negotiations are continuing on outstanding issues, with the Senate now expected to come back into session Tuesday afternoon to try to pass the bill.

“At this hour, our Democratic colleagues are still prolonging their discussions with the administration, so the Senate regretfully won’t be able to pass more funding for Americans’ paychecks today,” Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said on the floor. Continue reading.

Democrats try to force McConnell’s hand on coronavirus aid

The Hill logoCongressional Democratic leaders are trying to box out Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) by negotiating a deal with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and President Trump to provide $251 billion in new funding for small businesses.

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Speaker Nancy Pelosi(D-Calif.) calculate that Trump will be eager for a deal when funding for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a popular small-business lending program, is projected to expire Thursday, when another wave of unemployment claims become public.

They have largely worked with Mnuchin instead of McConnell, betting that if Trump signs on to a $500 billion deal to extend small-business lending, send funds to hospitals and rescue cash-strapped states, McConnell and other GOP lawmakers will fall in line. Continue reading.

Mitch McConnell calls Trump ‘nuts’ behind his back — and even compares him to Roy Moore: report

AlterNet logoWhat Republicans say about President Donald Trump publicly and what they say in private can be two very different things — and according to The New Yorker’s Jane Mayer, a prime example is Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Publicly, the Kentucky Republican paints himself as a staunch Trump ally. But Mayer, in an in-depth article, reports that privately, McConnell has described the president as “nuts” and expressed frustration with some of Trump’s antics.

Mayer’s piece, headlined “How Mitch McConnell Became Trump’s Enabler in Chief,” takes a close look at McConnell’s history — both before and after Trump became president. And she stresses that McConnell, publicly, has been a vigorous Trump defender. But in private, the Senate majority leader has, at times, cringed.

“Although the two men almost always support each other in public,” Mayer reports, “several members of McConnell’s innermost circle told me that in private, things are quite different. They say that behind Trump’s back, McConnell has called the president ‘nuts’ and made clear that he considers himself smarter than Trump — and that he ‘can’t stand him.’” Continue reading.

How Mitch McConnell Became Trump’s Enabler-in-Chief

The Senate Majority Leader’s refusal to rein in the President is looking riskier than ever.

On Thursday, March 12th, Mitch McConnell, the Senate Majority Leader, could have insisted that he and his colleagues work through the weekend to hammer out an emergency aid package addressing the coronavirus pandemic. Instead, he recessed the Senate for a long weekend, and returned home to Louisville, Kentucky. McConnell, a seventy-eight-year-old Republican who is about to complete his sixth term as a senator, planned to attend a celebration for a protégé, Justin Walker, a federal judge who was once his Senate intern. McConnell has helped install nearly two hundred conservatives as judges; stocking the judiciary has been his legacy project.

Soon after he left the Capitol, Democrats in the House of Representatives settled on a preliminary rescue package, working out the details with the Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin. The Senate was urgently needed for the next steps in the process. McConnell, though, was onstage in a Louisville auditorium, joking that his opponents “occasionally compare me to Darth Vader.”

The gathering had the feel of a reunion. Don McGahn, Donald Trump’s former White House counsel, whom McConnell has referred to as his “buddy and co-collaborator” in confirming conservative judges, flew down for the occasion. So did Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, whose Senate confirmation McConnell had fought fiercely to secure. Walker, the event’s honoree, had clerked for Kavanaugh, and became one of his lead defenders after Kavanaugh was accused of sexual assault. McConnell is now championing Walker for an opening on the powerful D.C. Court of Appeals, even though Walker has received a “not qualified” rating from the American Bar Association, in part because, at the age of thirty-eight, he has never tried a case. Continue reading.