McConnell: No COVID-19 Bailout For New York State

The Senate Majority Leader says there won't be a COVID-19 bailout for New York, adding the state should file for bankruptcy.

Mitch McConnell said the Republican-controlled Senate won't support federal bailouts for New York and other "blue" states hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.

“I would certainly be in favor of allowing states to use the bankruptcy route," the Kentucky Republican said on a radio show on Wednesday. “My guess is their first choice would be for the federal government to borrow money from future generations to send it down to them now so they don’t have to do that. That’s not something I’m going to be in favor of. There’s not going to be any desire on the Republican side to bail out state pensions by borrowing money from future generations.”

McConnell’s team later released a transcript of the interview with the subheadline “On Stopping Blue State Bailouts.”

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo who has repeatedly said the federal government must help New York responded to McConnell's comments on WAMC.

"That is one of the saddest, really dumb comments of all time. Okay, let's have all the states declare bankruptcy - that's the way to bring the national economy back," Cuomo said, according to a transcript from Cuomo's office. "And then hyperpartisan 'blue state.' No, not 'blue' state, not 'red' state, states where people are dying. Why don't we think about that? Not red and blue. Red, white and blue. They're just Americans dying. The coronavirus doesn't' infect Democrats or Republicans, it just infects Americans. When are they going to stop with the partisanship? Not even on life and death? I mean it's so ridiculous, and for them not to fund the states. It's not like the states, I put the money in my pocket. They funded small businesses. Great, good move. How about police? How about fire? How about teachers? How about schools? "The governors have to reopen." Okay, do you want states bankrupt as he just said when we are supposed to be doing reopening? You want to reopen the economy, Mr. McConnell so everybody gets their job back? But the people you put in charge of reopening, the governors in the states, should declare bankruptcy? That's how you want to reopen? By bankrupting the states? That's going to get people back to work faster? I mean it's just a really dumb statement."

On Tuesday, Cuomo met with President Donald Trump at the White House and discussed much-needed federal funding with Trump. Cuomo said New York needs federal funding to fill the hole COVID-19 has put the state in and noted the White House team understood the need.