At every turn, Republican lawmakers are seeking to sabotage the Biden Administration’s work to crush the coronavirus. Last week, both House and Senate Republicans uniformly tried to block the American Rescue Plan, which includes funding for vaccine distribution. Now, they are sowing doubt about the vaccine and ending precautionary measures to slow the spread of the virus.
Opposing The American Rescue Plan, Urging States To Reject Funding For Essential Workers
The American Rescue Plan, although wildly popular with voters, received no support from Republicans in the House and Senate. The bill provides funding for coronavirus vaccines and testing, a critical component to fighting the virus and getting the country back on track.
- The American Rescue Plan Received No Support From Republican Lawmakers Despite Being Popular Among Republican, Independent, And Democratic Voters. “President Biden signed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act into law on Thursday, finalizing an early policy victory that will send much-needed aid to millions of Americans still struggling from the COVID-19 pandemic. […] The bill was narrowly approved by the House on Wednesday with a vote of 220 to 211, with one Democrat joining all Republicans in voting against it. It passed the Senate on Saturday with a 50 to 49 vote, also along party lines. […] New CBS News polling shows that the bill is widely popular with the public, with three in four Americans approving of its passage. Two-thirds of Americans also say Mr. Biden is doing a good job in his handling of the pandemic.” [CBS, 3/12/21]
- The American Rescue Plan Devotes $66 Billion To Coronavirus Vaccinations And More Coronavirus Testing Capacity. “Roughly 7% of the stimulus funding will be directed toward Covid-19 treatment—testing and contact tracing making up the largest share of this policy section. The second largest is aid via the Disaster Relief Fund to cover funeral expenses related to Covid-19 deaths. Vaccine distributions and the distribution of other medical supplies also fall into this section. […] Testing and contract tracing – $50 billion. […] Vaccine distribution, confidence and supply chains – $16 billion.” [Wall Street Journal, 3/11/21]
- The ARP Devotes $350 Billion To Aid For State And Local Governments That Have Shed OVer 1 Million Jobs Since The Pandemic Began Last Year. “Aid to state and local governments: The Senate package designates $350 billion for states, cities, tribal governments and U.S. territories. Local government funding emerged as one of the top flash points in stimulus negotiations. Moderate Senate Democrats have pushed to redirect some of those funds to invest in infrastructure and to expand the broadband network. Others on the left have grown concerned that some states would use federal aid to cut local taxes instead of spending money on covid relief. Facing deep budget shortfalls, state and local governments have shed 1.3 million jobs since the pandemic began last year — a loss of more than 1 in 20 government jobs, according to a Washington Post analysis of government data. While tax revenue grew in some states last year, the majority — at least 26 states — were hit with declines.” [Washington Post, 3/6/21]
Even after the relief bill’s passage some Republicans, like Florida Sen. Rick Scott, are urging states to reject the money the plan allocates to them to address the fallout of the pandemic.
- Florida Senator Rick Scott Called On Cities And States To Send Back The Money They Are Allocated By The American Rescue Plan. “Florida U.S. Sen. Rick Scott has a message for states and cities poised to receive a collective $360 billion from the American Rescue Act stimulus package: Send it back. Scott’s call to reject money that polls show is popular nationally, even among Republicans, has flared tension between Scott and another Florida GOP leader, Gov. Ron DeSantis. In an open letter to governors and mayors, sent moments after the U.S. House on Wednesday approved the $1.9 trillion bill, Scott called it ‘massive, wasteful and non-targeted,’ urging states to follow his lead and send a message to Congress to ‘quit recklessly spending other people’s money.’” [Palm Beach Post, 3/12/21]
Refusing To Get Vaccinated, Setting A Bad Example For Trump Supporters Hesitant About Receiving The Vaccine
This opposition to popular, much-needed relief for the American people comes as many Republican officials publicly refuse to receive the vaccine, or as in the case of former President Trump, are quietly vaccinated but do little to promote it.
- Only 75 Percent Of Congress Has Been Vaccinated As Republican Leaders Say They Will Refuse The Vaccine. “Congress is debating how they can go back to normal procedures as only 75% of the body has been vaccinated against COVID-19, Axios reported. […] In December, GOP Rep. Ken Buck said he won’t be getting the shot. ‘It is my choice,” he told Fox Business Channel. “I have the freedom to decide if I’m going to take a vaccine or not and in this case I am not going to take the vaccine.’” [Business Insider, 3/15/21]
- Republican Congressman Madison Cawthorn Said He Would Not Receive The Coronavirus Vaccine. “While the makeup of those refusing or declining to reveal their vaccine status is not known, more Republicans have spoken against taking it than Democrats. Madison Cawthorn, a 25-year-old Republican representative, has said in the past that he won’t be taking a vaccine because ‘the survival rate [from Covid] is too high for me to want it’.” [The Independent, 3/15/21]
- Former President Trump Quietly Received The Coronavirus Vaccine In January. “Former President Donald J. Trump and his wife, Melania, quietly received coronavirus vaccinations in January before leaving the White House, an adviser said on Monday. The news came a day after Mr. Trump appeared at the CPAC political conference in Orlando, Fla., where for the first time he encouraged people to go get vaccinated. […] The secret approach by Mr. Trump came as a number of his supporters have expressed resistance to the vaccine, and as other officials have tried setting an example by getting the shot in public.” [New York Times, 3/1/21]
- Trump Did Not Participate In A Recent PSA That Featured All Other Living Former Presidents Encouraging Americans To Get Vaccinated. “However, Trump did not participate in a recent public service announcement by the Ad Council that featured all of the other living former presidents encouraging Americans to get vaccinated, an omission Fauci said was ‘puzzling.’” [Washington Post, 3/14/21]
- The Republican Governor Of Arkansas Said The Reason Arkansans Were Resistant To The Vaccine Was Because Arkansas Is “A Very Pro-Trump State In Terms Of The Last Election, And So We See That Resistance.” “During an interview Sunday on CBS’s Face the Nation, Arkansas’s Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson seemed to pin resistance to getting vaccinated squarely on Trump. ‘The poll numbers are troubling, because in Arkansas it’s a very pro-Trump state in terms of the last election, and so we see that resistance whenever we’re opening up eligibility for the vaccine,’ he said. ‘We’re moving through it very quickly because we’re not having everybody sign up to take it.’” [Vox, 3/14/21]
This Republican refusal to encourage the country to get vaccinated has led to widespread skepticism among Republican voters, and especially Trump voters, about taking the vaccine.
- February 2021: 41 Percent Of Republicans Said They Don’t Plan To Get The Coronavirus Vaccine. “By the numbers: 41% of Republicans say they don’t plan to get a vaccine if it’s available to them. Only 33% say they do plan to get vaccinated.” [Axios, 2/25/21]
- Multiple Polls Show That At Least 40 Percent Of Republicans Say They Are Unlikely To Get The Vaccine, Including One Poll That Hound 47 Percent Of Trump Voters Said They Would Not Get The Vaccine. “Last week, a Monmouth University poll found that 56 percent of Republicans either wanted to wait and see further before getting a vaccine or said they will likely never get one, compared to just 23 percent of Democrats. Another poll, from NPR/PBS/Marist, found that 47 percent of Trump voters and 41 percent of Republicans said they will not get the vaccine when made available to them. And a Kaiser Family Foundation tracking poll found the number of Republicans refusing to get the vaccine was 28 percent, while the number of Black Americans and Hispanic Americans who felt that stood at 14 percent and 12 percent respectively.” [NBC, 3/14/21]
GOP States Opening Up Too Soon, Threatening To Undermine Progress
Meanwhile, states controlled by Republicans are fully opening up their states which could lead to further needless coronavirus infections and deaths.
- Dr. Anthony Fauci Urged Caution As States Like Texas Begin To Reopen At Full Capacity And Drop Their Mask Mandates, Saying The Actions Could Lead To Another COVID-19 Surge. “Dr. Anthony Fauci on Sunday warned that the U.S. could experience another Covid-19 surge like Europe if it lifts restrictions too soon and called on Donald Trump to urge his supporters to get vaccinated. His warnings came as some states, such as Texas, have begun allowing businesses to reopen at full capacity and dropping mask mandates against the advice of public-health officials. Mr. Fauci called the decision in Texas ‘risky and potentially dangerous.’” [Wall Street Journal, 3/14/21]
- The Governor Of Mississippi Ended The State’s Mask Mandates Shortly After The Governor Of Texas Announced The End Of His State’s Mask Mandate. “The governors of Texas and Mississippi both announced on Tuesday they would be lifting their states’ mask mandates and rolling back many of their Covid-19 health mandates, just one day after the CDC warned against complacency in the face of emerging coronavirus variants. […] Shortly after Abbott’s announcement, Gov. Tate Reeves announced that he would end Mississippi’s statewide mask mandate, effective Wednesday of this week.” [NBC, 3/2/21]