Sometimes, two news reports come out around the same time that form notable bookends. First up is this report from The Hill:
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Monday that he’s in “constant communication” with the White House about the federal government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic but that there isn’t yet a need for Congress to pass additional legislation…. “I don’t think we have yet felt the urgency of acting immediately. That time could develop, but I don’t think it has yet,” McConnell added.
And then there was this report from the Louisville Courier Journal, published on Friday:
The coronavirus pandemic has put a bigger share of Kentucky’s workforce out of a job than any other state in America, new unemployment figures show. More than 670,000 Kentuckians — roughly one-third of the commonwealth’s workforce — filed for unemployment insurance for the first time from the week ending March 14 through the week ending May 2.
Let’s also note for context that it’s an election year, and Mitch McConnell is on the ballot. He’s a clear favorite to win yet another term, but the Kentucky Republican is facing a well-financed Democratic rival who’s putting up a spirited challenge.
As his home state faces one of the worst economic crises in the country, McConnell fails to feel “the urgency of acting immediately” on another economic package, it’s hard not to wonder how many voters in the Bluegrass State may feel some urgency about finding a different senator.
For her part, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is moving forward with an ambitious economic aid package, which may reach the floor for a vote as early as Friday. While Donald Trump has said there’s “no rush” on advancing more economic legislation, and the White House has called for a “pause,” possibly until next month, the California Democrat insists such passivity is a mistake. “We have to put money in the pockets of the American people, recognizing the pain, the agony that they are feeling. To those who would suggest a pause, I’ll say the hunger doesn’t take a pause, the rent doesn’t take a pause, the hardship doesn’t take a pause,” Pelosi told MSNBC’s Chris Hayes last night.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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