Outspoken New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo came for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in a press conference Thursday, accusing him of politicizing coronavirus relief efforts and calling his suggestion that states seek bankruptcy relief "dumb."
"As soon as the Senate passed it, this current bill, Sen. Mitch McConnell goes out and he says [that] maybe the states should declare bankruptcy, OK? This is one of the really dumb ideas of all time," Cuomo said Thursday.
His statements follow the Senate's passage of a $484 billion stimulus bill on Tuesday, which excluded $150 billion in funding for state and local governments that Democrats were seeking. The House is also expected to sign off on it. Although the bill lacked the type of funding many local leaders were hoping for, the Trump administration has suggested it may be open to including that type of relief in subsequent bills, The Washington Post reported.
But McConnell seemed to disagree. During a radio interview Wednesday, McConnell suggested states file for bankruptcy, rather than drawing from federal relief.
"I would certainly be in favor of allowing states to use the bankruptcy route," McConnell said on the show, as reported by Washington Post. "My guess is their first choice would be for the federal government to borrow money from future generations to send it down to them now so they don't have to do that. That's not something I'm going to be in favor of."
McConnell's office later clarified that the states he was referring to were, in fact, Democratic states when a subsequent press release referred to financial assistance as "blue state bailouts."
Cuomo called the plan "shortsighted" and blamed McConnell for politicizing the pandemic relief effort.
"Vicious is saying, when Senator McConnell said, 'This is a blue state bailout.' What he's saying is if you look at the states that have coronavirus problems, they tend to be Democratic states," Cuomo said. "Don't help New York state because it is a Democratic state. How ugly a thought. Just think about what he is saying. People died — 15,000 people died in New York — but they were predominantly Democrats, so why should we help them?"
As the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S., New York has been hit especially hard by the virus. Official state counts tally more than 260,000 infected, and close to 16,000 dead from the virus across the state. Social distancing and lockdown measures implemented to slow the spread of the virus have taken a major toll on the economy, as well, with newly jobless New Yorkers rushing to file for unemployment.
New York's situation could soon become reality for many other U.S. states, Barron's reported, especially those like Michigan and Illinois that have also been hit hard by coronavirus — and also happen to have Democratic governors.
On numerous occasions, President Trump, himself, has said that he would offer to help states with governors that are complimentary of his coronavirus efforts, although even infectious disease experts have panned Trump's reticence to shut down the U.S. sooner.
"It's a two-way street. They have to treat us well, also. They can't say, 'Oh, gee, we should get this, we should get that," Trump told Fox News in late March, referring to ventilator distribution.
"If there was ever a time for you to put aside your pettiness and your partisanship and this political lens that you see this world through ... if there's ever a time for humanity and decency, now is the time," Cuomo said Wednesday.
As governor of the state hit hardest by the novel coronavirus, Cuomo has stolen the national spotlight since the onset of the pandemic in the U.S. Trump and Cuomo — both natives of Queens, New York, have since engaged in a war of words — and occasionally tweets — over management of the crisis.
In spite of the dire situation in his home state, Cuomo closed his critique of McConnell with some encouraging words for New Yorkers.
"I am a governor of all New Yorkers. Democrat, Republican, Independent — I don't even care what your political party is, I represent you. And we are all there to support each other," he stated.
All Hands celebrates Black History Month by highlighting achievements in inclusivity and paying homage to those who have fought for equal rights. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) joins Cheddar News to discuss voter suppression; Damali Peterman, CEO of Breakthrough ADR, elaborates on the biggest barriers for Black professionals; Andre Perry, senior fellow of Brookings Institution, dives into student loans and the racial wealth divide; and lastly, BET CEO Scott Mills discusses the company's initiatives for 2022.
All month long Cheddar News is celebrating Black History Month.
In our nation’s capital, Black history is being made right now.
cheddar's own Arielle Hixon puts the spotlight on three lawmakers making that happen, Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-IL), Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO), and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC).
Representative Maxine Waters (D-Calif. 43rd District) joined Cheddar News to talk about the current political climate in America, including efforts to roll back voting rights in multiple states in light of Black History Month. "Why do we have to deal with those who still believe that somehow this country only belongs to the whites of the country and that somehow they have to do everything that they can to undermine our voting and do voters suppression to keep us from being influential and at the table by which to solve problems?" she asked. Waters chided "two Democrats" who she said were stymying attempts to rectify the issue and also spoke on President Biden’s promise to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court.
Wall Street saw another volatile day after the Federal Reserve left rates unchanged for now, with plans to raise rates in March at its next meeting in order to ease inflation. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the Fed has not made decisions on the size of rate increases, adding that the Fed is not trying to get inflation below two-percent. Ken Johnson, CFA and Investment Strategy Analyst explains why Powell thinks that high inflation is a significant threat to the labor market.
Anu Gaggar, global investment strategist for Commonwealth Financial Network, joined Cheddar News to discuss how global supply chains could be disrupted even further by an armed conflict in Ukraine.
Solid-state battery maker Factorial Energy recently raised $200 million in a Series D round led by Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis. Factorial says the funding will be used to accelerate commercial production and deployment of its solid-state battery technology, which the company says is safer, and offers up to 50% more driving range than current lithium-ion technology. Factorial also has joint development agreements (announced in late 2021) with Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis, and Hyundai, three of the top 10 global automotive manufacturers, to commercialize its batteries. Factorial CEO Siyu Huang joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
A new report by the Foreign Correspondents Club of China warns that press freedom in the most populous country in the world is declining at an alarming speed. Cheddar News speaks with Steven Butler, Asia Program Coordinator at the Committee to Protect Journalists, about the hardships journalists face in China.
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C. 1st District) joined Cheddar to discuss her cannabis legalization bill, the States Reform Act, and the prospects for gaining bipartisan support for a bill that has garnered the endorsement of e-commerce giant Amazon. This legislation is supported by businesses large and small, Amazon obviously being the most recent and largest business to support it," Mace said. "They don't want to sell pot. But what it does do is it affects their working employment pool." She stated that 10 percent of eligible new hires for Amazon are affected by restrictive marijuana laws. The representative also explained that the bill leaves equity provisions up to the states rather than mandating them on a federal level.
After a number of tragic subway incidents, the MTA is facing increased pressure to install subway platform screens to help prevent injury or death. However, according to an earlier report from the MTA, installing these prevented measures isn't feasible. New York City Council Member Keith Powers, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
