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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial distracted the federal government from the novel coronavirus as it reached the United States in January, despite warnings at the time from public health experts and members of Congress about the spread of the virus. McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt on Tuesday that the deadly virus “came up while we were tied down on the impeachment trial. And I think it diverted the attention of the government, because everything every day was all about impeachment.″ […] McConnell said Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas...

Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky charged the Democrats’ recent impeachment coup that stretched into the beginning of February with distracting the administration from the Wuhan coronavirus threat as the outbreak worsened in China. “It came up while we were tied down in the impeachment trial, and I think it diverted the attention of the government because everything every day was all about impeachment,” McConnell said Tuesday on “The Hugh Hewitt Show.” While China was implementing large-scale lockdowns across the country at the start of the new year to contain the virus, the White House was focused on...

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) made it clear this would be the Senate's last opportunity to pass the bill before they go on recess until after Easter break.

mitch mcconnell on tv just now senate passes emergency $2t relief bill 100-0 with some snarky reporters biting his ankles about pelosi's alleged lack of happiness

White House, Senate strike deal on historic $2T coronavirus relief bill; Pelosi offers tepid endorsement White House and Senate leaders reached a historic deal shortly after midnight Wednesday on a massive $2 trillion coronavirus relief package for workers and businesses, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi offered something of a tepid endorsement of the agreement after previously pushing for her own legislation. The bipartisan breakthrough in the Senate capped days of heated negotiations that had nearly been derailed by last-minute demands from House Democrats. “Ladies and gentleman, we are done," White House legislative affairs director Eric Ueland announced as he left...

The White House and Senate leaders reached a breakthrough deal shortly after midnight Wednesday on a massive $2 trillion coronavirus relief package, Fox News has confirmed, capping off days of heated negotiations that had nearly been derailed by last-minute demands from House Democrats. “Ladies and gentleman, we are done," White House legislative affairs director Eric Ueland announced as he left the office of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., near midnight. "We have a deal."

Believe me, these ten minutes are worth your time. Here's Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) absolutely ripping House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and the Democrats for sneaking in a laundry list of progressive, environmental provisions into the CARES Act, the third phase of Congress's coronavirus response intended to provide aid, relief, and economic security for individuals and businesses during this unpredictable era. Barrasso kicked off his remarks by condemning "the demands by the Democrats to muck up a bill that is designed as a rescue operation for the American people." He next identified the culprit. "Nancy Pelosi flew back from California...

A Global Pandemic Go To Waste The coronavirus relief bill congressional Democrats are pushing has all the hallmarks of Obama’s 2009 stimulus package: welfare funding disguised as relief. So it turns out the real reason congressional Democrats blocked a Senate coronavirus spending bill on Sunday wasn’t because they were concerned it favored corporations over individuals or because they wanted more direct aid to families and small businesses. It was because they want to use this crisis as pretext for passing a bunch of Democratic policies that have nothing to do with the pandemic.On Monday, right around the time Senate Democrats...

This is not an emergency virus bill. It is a Democratic election wish list, at a time hundreds are dying, thousands are losing their businesses, and millions are out of work in the United States. The weekend began with a bipartisan plan. People were hopeful. Outside of Washington, business owners told The Federalist they finally saw light in all the darkness. They thought they’d be able to hire their employees back again. These are employees who have families, mortgages, and lives, people who have never asked for public assistance in their lives and never thought they’d have to.The mood in...

https://thefederalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Trump-Mnuchin-And-Cabinet-Meet-With-China.-White-House.-Shealah-Craighead.-e1584750455621-998x649.jpg> Just beyond -- and in the midst of -- the public health and financial liquidity crises is the expansive and potentially devastating solvency crisis. The U.S. economy is in trouble, and if you can believe it, that trouble isn’t simply the closure of Main Street, the massive number of nationwide layoffs, and the danger of financial crisis we’ve all heard about. As companies run out of cash, pushing them toward insolvency, our country’s business-to-business trust is at risk of coming apart — tearing and ultimately collapsing the delicate system that keeps industries as diverse as farming, chemicals, and aluminum...

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) blocked Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) attempt to set up a Monday morning vote on the stimulus package, effectively delaying the vote until the afternoon. McConnell had vowed earlier Sunday that he would force a second procedural vote related to the stimulus package at 9:45 a.m., 15 minutes after the markets open. But when McConnell tried to lock in that time, Schumer objected, denying the GOP leader the consent he needed to enact his plan. Instead, the Senate will vote for a second time after they come into session at noon on Monday....

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) ripped Democrats for blocking a mammoth stimulus package from advancing on Sunday, accusing them of a "spectacle" and "playing games" with the economy. "I want everybody to fully understand if we aren't able to act tomorrow, it will because of our colleagues on the other side continuing to dither when the country expects us to come together and address this problem," he said from the Senate floor. McConnell noted that during the vote the stock futures dropped five percent, adding that "the notion that we have time to play games here with the American...

After a bumpy few weeks, the Trump administration has found a firm footing in its response to Chinese Virus.After a bumpy couple of weeks, approval of President Trump’s handling of the Chinese Virus has been on the rise according to two new polls. A new Ipsos/ABC poll released Friday shows 55 percent of Americans approve of the president’s response with 43 percent disapproving. A similar Harris poll found 56 percent approval and 44 percent disapproval.Just a week ago the Ipsos numbers were essentially reversed with approval hovering in the low 40s. In the early days of the Chinese Virus...

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is proposing direct payments of $1,200 per person and $2,400 for couples amid the coronavirus outbreak, according to a copy of the legislation obtained by The Associated Press. The GOP leader was poised to unveil the sweeping response Thursday as Congress raced to draft a $1 trillion measure to shore up for households and the U.S. economy. Among key elements would be the direct payments to Americans, aligned with the Trump administration's push for quick cash aid. Under McConnell's proposal, the minimum payments would be $600, and aid would be phased down at income thresholds...

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the Senate would move at "warp speed" to pass coronavirus legislation on Tuesday, but Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., put a damper on those plans, two leadership sources told NBC News. Senators were on Tuesday heading towards a vote on the package — which includes provisions for free coronavirus testing, secures paid emergency leave, enhances unemployment insurance, strengthens food security initiatives, and increases federal Medicaid funding to states — but had to slam the brakes on because of an amendment Paul proposed. The sources said Paul is forcing a vote on his amendment, which would...

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's coronavirus bill is not enough. It is not nearly enough. And if there is any hope of keeping the U.S. economy from free fall, its deficiencies must be addressed this week. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s coronavirus bill is not enough. It is not nearly enough. And if there is any hope of keeping the U.S. economy from free fall, its deficiencies must be addressed this week with a combination of immediate and direct aid to the businesses that feed our families, host our celebrations, employ our neighbors, sponsor our Little Leagues, and make our towns our...

Friday night's deal includes every Democratic wish except taxpayer-funded abortion and not a single Republican proposal. Those will come later, we're told. We're always told that, and it almost never happens. WASHINGTON, DC — Washington politicians appear poised to fail the country once again, agreeing Friday evening to a one-sided and partisan coronavirus bill disguised as compromise. It’s not a shock to any conservatives in Washington and probably isn’t surprising to Republican voters either. They’re used to betrayal. But the suffering men and women who run America’s small and mid-sized businesses might have hoped they wouldn’t be abandoned in a...

While most of us are focused on the presidential election, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is focused on filling judicial vacancies. McConnell appeared on Hugh Hewitt's radio show on Tuesday, and the first thing they discussed was judicial vacancies. "I’ve got the classic question: What have you done for me lately?" Hewitt asked, before answering himself. "You’ve actually saved the Constitution with 50 Appeals Court judges, two Supreme Court justices, 133 district court judges." Both acknowledged that despite the impressive record of getting judges confirmed, there's still a lot of work to be done. "I know that there are a...

The partisan operation to oust Trump through impeachment for winning the 2016 presidential election finally came to an end on Wednesday. The Senate voted to acquit Trump on the first article of impeachment, a charge for abuse of power, with a vote of 52-48, falling short of the 67 needed to remove the president from office. They voted to acquit on the second article of impeachment, a charge of obstruction of justice, with a vote of 53-47. Sen. Mitt Romney announced just hours before he would break party lines and split his vote, voting Trump guilty on the abuse of...

Ted Cruz appeared to mock Nancy Pelosi's infamous handclap on the floor of the Senate Friday after 51 Republicans voted against calling witnesses in President Trump's impeachment trial - effectively ending Democrat's attempts to remove him from office. The Texas senator, 49, was seen mimicking the clap as he spoke with other Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, before the vote was called around 5 pm. Last year, Speaker Pelosi 'condescendingly' clapped her hands at President Trump following his State Of The Union address - a move which sparked international headlines and a flurry of memes. On Friday, Cruz's...