McConnell: Dems Are ‘Stretching Out’ the Pandemic as a ‘Rationale for Additional Spending’

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) claims Democrats are trying to use the COVID-19 pandemic to allow them to pass additional spending, which he argues is not necessary or “best” for the country.

On Monday, McConnell said, “I think it’s pretty safe to say the bipartisanship of last year has kind of broken down because … our colleagues on the other side of the aisle just can’t resist stretching out the pandemic, using it as a rationale for additional spending far beyond what is best for the country.”

Last year, lawmakers passed two major COVID-19 relief packages which received bipartisan support in both chambers. However, after President Joe Biden was inaugurated and proposed another $1.9 trillion relief package, Republicans balked at another round of spending as they claimed it was a “payoff to progressives.”

Still, Democrats were able to pass Biden’s relief proposal without any Republican votes. Biden argued