Stacey Ritzen
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell upheld his reputation as the most hated man in Washington this week by refusing a vote for a largely bipartisan bill that would have increased direct payments in the year-end coronavirus relief package from $600 to $2,000. The move was likewise condemned by President Donald Trump, who had his own reasons for doing so (which is neither here nor there).
Even Senator Lindsey Graham—arguably, the second most hated man in Washington— is a proponent of larger stimulus checks.
“We have seven Republicans who’ve already said they would vote for it,” Graham told Fox News on Thursday. “We need five more. I think if we had the vote, we would get there.” Though, unlike Senator Bernie Sanders, who has vowed to filibuster the Senate right into the New Year, if necessary, Graham is A-OK waiting until after the holidays.
In the meantime, as millions of Americans are struggling to pay the bills, Mitch McConnell has become an even greater villain than he usually is. After getting dragged on Twitter for the first half of the week, by Wednesday some Twitter users began to notice that McConnell has a public Venmo.
And naturally, people began using it to request their $2,000 stimulus package from Mitch himself.
“Mitch McConnell is on Venmo,” tweeted @BethGoldHux. “Twitter, do your thing.”
And do its thing, Twitter did!
Others hit Mitch McConnell up on Paypal:
RIP Mitch McConnel’s payment apps. Couldn’t have happened to a nicer turtle.