Mitch McConnell gets bipartisan blowback for pushing bankruptcy over federal aid for reeling states

Mitch McConnell
(Image credit: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)

The House is expected to clear a $484 billion coronavirus relief package to replenish a small-business loan programs Thursday, sending it to President Trump's desk. Democrats won $100 billion for hospitals and national coronavirus testing in the legislation, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blocked a Democratic push to include $150 billion for states and local governments. The White House said those funds would be included in the next rescue bill, but McConnell pushed the "pause button" on more aid packages Tuesday, telling The Wall Street Journal he's now worried about the national debt.

McConnell told conservative talk-show host Hugh Hewitt on Wednesday that governors "would love to have free money" but he would prefer hard-hit states be allowed "to use the bankruptcy route." States can't legally declare bankruptcy. In a press release, McConnell called relief funds for states "Blue State bailouts."

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.