The home of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in Louisville, Kentucky, was vandalized Saturday morning. Spray-painted messages on Republican leader’s front door appear to respond to opposition to increase coronavirus relief controls to Americans from $ 600 to $ 2,000.
One message says “it was (sic) my money,” another “Mitch kills the poor,” according to photos shared by CBS News’ Louisville affiliate WLKY. McConnell blocked voting to increase checks for three days in a row last week and called the proposal “socialism for rich people.”
McConnell and the Republican Party argue that the bill would benefit the rich. McConnell, however, previously supported the $ 1 trillion tax cut in 2017, which it disproportionately benefited the rich. The Republican Party leader also questions how much money the bill would cost the government. According to Heights Securities, the largest checks would amount to $ 530 billion, about $ 385 billion more than 600 checks would cost. The Senate, led by McConnell, passed one on Friday $ 740 billion defense policy bill known as the National Defense Authorization Act, NDAA.
To pass the NDAA, the Senate had to overturn President Trump’s veto, marking the first time Congress voted to overturn Mr. Trump during his entire presidency.
After blocking the House bill that would have authorized $ 2,000 stimulus checks, McConnell introduced a bill that linked the increase in payments to two separate numbers valued by Trump: Nixing Article 230, a legal shield for Internet companies and the creation of a commission to examine electoral integrity. The president also linked the repeal of section 230 to the NDAA, but several members of Congress, including some Republicans, successfully argued that it was not relevant to national security.
“Here’s the deal,” McConnell said in statements on the Senate floor earlier this week. “The Senate will not divide the three issues that President Trump related just because Democrats are afraid to address two of them.”
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, called vandalism at McConnell’s home “unacceptable” to Twitter Saturday. “While the First Amendment protects our freedom of speech, vandalism is reprehensible and never acceptable for any reason,” Beshear wrote.
McConnell said in his own statement that “vandalism and the politics of fear have no place in our society.”
“I have spent my career fighting for the First Amendment and advocating a peaceful protest. I thank all the Kentuckians who have participated in the democratic process, whether they agree with me or not,” his statement says. “My wife and I have never been intimidated by this toxic playbook. We just hope our Louisville neighbors aren’t too upset by this radical rage.”
It appears that the home of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in San Francisco was also vandalized this weekend, CBS SF Bay Area reports. The garage door of a residence in the Pacific Heights neighborhood was spray-painted and a pig’s head was left on the sidewalk.
The graffiti, which said “cancel the rental” and “we want it all,” also appear to be related to the coronavirus. stimulus controls. Democrats support larger checks and Pelosi herself implored McConnell not to block the vote on the bill. “Mitch McConnell, remove the hurdle you have so that the American people have a chance to receive that direct payment and do it now,” he said.
San Francisco police would not confirm whether the residence belongs to the speaker. Pelosi is currently in Washington, DC