McConnell distances himself from Trump on COVID-19, criticizes White House precautions
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he has not been to the White House since August 6 and that he did not feel President Donald Trump and his staffers were taking appropriate precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
“I personally didn’t feel that they were approaching protections from this illness in the same way that I thought was appropriate for the Senate,” McConnell said Thursday in Bourbon County. “And the Senate has been operating in a way that I think has largely prevented contraction of this disease.”
The comments come after an outbreak of COVID-19 in the White House has caused upheaval in the capital. President Donald Trump tested positive for the virus last week, as did many of his staff members and some senators who attended a ceremony at the White House.
McConnell still would not say when he was last tested, instead saying he was following the guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control.
It isn’t the first time McConnell has distanced himself from Trump’s messaging on COVID-19 — the 78-year-old made a point to encourage everyone to wear a mask at stops throughout Kentucky this summer, even before Trump appeared in public wearing a mask — but it comes at a point in the campaign where the president’s support appears to be slipping, according to public polls.
McConnell was in Paris at Central Motor Wheel of America with U.S. Rep. Andy Barr to talk about a transportation grant and the CARES Act, the legislation intended to provide economic relief to people and businesses affected by COVID-19. Talks on an additional COVID-19 relief package stalled earlier this week when President Donald Trump urged Congress to wait until after the election to pass a bill.
Despite Trump’s comments, McConnell said negotiations on the bill were ongoing and attempted to place blame on the Democrats who control the House of Representatives.
“We’re still talking and trying to see if we can narrow our differences,” McConnell said. “At some point we’re going to have to find a way forward because I do think there’s bipartisan agreement that we need another package. But the amount of money is not irrelevant.”
Democrat Amy McGrath, McConnell’s opponent in his reelection bid for U.S. Senate, was critical of McConnell’s role in the negotiations Tuesday, saying she felt he had given up on getting a relief package and was prioritizing the Supreme Court confirmation of Judge Amy Coney Barrett instead.
“He has slow-tracked coronavirus aid since May and has fast tracked this Supreme Court nominee with 28 days to go,” McGrath said. “It’s dereliction of duty, it’s an absolute abdication of responsibility that the Senate Majority Leader would just quit. He just quit on us. It’s what he does.”
McConnell did not say if he felt the White House’s response to the pandemic has hampered negotiations on COVID-19 relief, saying his focus was getting Republican Senators — especially those who feel the government has done enough — onboard with legislation.
“I’ve got my hands full with 52 other Republican senators, not all of them, believe it or not, it’s hard for you to understand, have the same view of this,” McConnell said. “Just synthesizing the various views within my caucus in a way that gives us a chance to move forward takes up plenty of time.”
This story was originally published October 8, 2020 at 3:39 PM.
