Cuomo Rips McConnell for Saying He Supports Allowing States Declare Bankruptcy

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) is criticizing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) for his recent remarks suggesting states declare bankruptcy instead of asking the federal government for a bailout amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Cuomo took to Twitter to voice his disapproval of McConnell’s remarks during his recent radio interview with Hugh Hewitt. Describing his statement as a “really dumb idea,” Cuomo explained why he strongly disagrees with the Kentucky lawmaker.

“One of the really dumb ideas of all time just came from Sen. 👤Mitch McConnell,” Cuomo tweeted. “His suggestion to let states go bankrupt makes no sense. He says he doesn’t want a ‘Blue State Bailout.’ 15,000 people died — this is not the time for politics.”

Cuomo went on to offer a financial glimpse of the vast difference in New York State and Kentucky’s state contributions to the federal government. The frustrated governor also alluded to the idea of McConnell disregarding New York’s deaths due to the majority of the state consisting of Democratic voters.

Cuomo continued in the tweet, “Let’s talk about fairness, Mitch. NYS puts $116 billion more into the federal pot than we take out. Kentucky TAKES $148 billion more from the federal pot than they put in. But we don’t deserve help now because the 15,000 people who died here were predominately democrats?”

Cuomo also discussed New York’s federal contributions during Thursday’s press briefing reiterating that McConnell’s state takes far more than it gives. He also accused McConnell’s state of “living on the money that generated.”

See Cuomo’s remarks below:

Cuomo’s comments follow McConnell’s interview with Hewitt where they discussed the coronavirus along with state budgeting and financial management. Hewitt accused some states of being “badly mismanaged” and having “unfunded liabilities.”

McConnell weighed in saying he would favor states filing bankruptcy instead of asking for a bailout from the federal government.

“I would certainly be in favor of allowing states to use the bankruptcy route. It saves some cities. And there’s no good reason for it not to be available. 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.”

Check out McConnell’s interview below:

McConnell’s remarks have drawn criticism from multiple Democratic lawmakers, including Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D). During an interview with MSNBC, she described McConnell’s comments as “incredibly irresponsible.”

“I was really disappointed to see Sen. McConnell’s comments about letting the states go bankrupt,” Whitmer said on Thursday. “I just think that it’s incredibly irresponsible.”