Out Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) had some harsh words for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R) demand that a potential COVID-19 relief bill not include any help for cities and states struggling due to the pandemic and ensuing recession.
“Dear God, stop the nonsense,” Lightfoot said.
Related: Memes of Chicago’s stern lesbian mayor are taking over the internet & she loves it
McConnell rejected a potential $900 billion COVID relief bill yesterday in large part due to $160 billion included for state and local governments, calling funds “controversial state bailouts.”
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So the mayor made an impassioned plea for federal aid for cities and states, saying that her own city lost over $800 million in revenue this year because of the coronavirus pandemic which will lead to “severe service cuts” and “putting people out on the streets” if the federal government doesn’t help out.
“I don’t get Mitch McConnell,” she said. “I never have and probably never will. But it would be an absolute travesty if something happened in Congress and there was not any kind of accommodation for state and local governments.”
“I don’t know what goes on in that man’s mind, but he doesn’t understand and get it,” she said, pointing out that McConnell’s home state of Kentucky is facing similar problems and saying that he’s turning his back on the country while “every single town and municipality in this country is hurting.”
“I know that there’s a lot of posturing that goes on in Washington, D.C., but dear God, stop the nonsense,” Lightfoot said. “Get something done. We are hurting here in the heartland and all across our country and we need the federal government to step up and do their job.”
