Rep. Pete King rips Mitch McConnell as ‘Marie Antoinette of the Senate’nypost, nypost.com
Long Island GOP Rep. Pete King (left) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnellDennis A. Clark / AFP via Getty Images
Long Island GOP Rep. Pete King on Wednesday ripped Mitch McConnell as the “Marie Antoinette of the Senate” after the Majority Leader suggested struggling states go bankrupt amid the coronavirus crisis.
King was reacting to McConnell’s comments on a radio talk show earlier in the day where the senator dismissed the idea of more federal aid to states, claiming governors “would love to have free money.”
“McConnell’s dismissive remark that States devastated by Coronavirus should go bankrupt rather than get the federal assistance they need and deserve is shameful and indefensible,” King wrote on Twitter.
“To say that it is ‘free money’ to provide funds for cops, firefighters and healthcare workers makes McConnell the Marie Antoinette of the Senate.”
Marie Antoinette, the Queen of France during the French Revolution, allegedly responded derisively to the news that peasants were starving, saying, “Let them eat cake.”
During the appearance on “The Hugh Hewitt Show,” McConnell recommended that the federal government hit the “pause button” before doling out more cash to state and local government.
“We all have governors regardless of party who would love to have free money,” McConnell said on the broadcast.
McConnell instead said that the states bore some responsibility for their debt due to “pension programs” and said bankruptcy should be the first option.
“I would certainly be in favor of allowing states to use the bankruptcy route,” he said. “It’s saved some cities, and there’s no good reason for it not to be available.”
But McConnell lamented the fact that the nation’s governors would insist on receiving more aid during a pandemic that killed nearly 48,000 people nationwide.
“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,” he said. “That’s not something I’m going to be in favor of.”
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