News and Music Discovery
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

McGrath Criticizes Pandemic Response, Trump Supreme Court Pick During Mayfield Stop

Dalton York
/
WKMS

Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Amy McGrath returned to western Kentucky on Wednesday as part of a statewide tour ahead of the Nov. 3 general election.

McGrath spoke at Mayfield’s Kiwanis Park on issues including the coronavirus pandemic, the economy and the upcoming Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Judge Amy Coney Barrett. 

McGrath criticized Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s role in the government’s response to the pandemic. She said McConnell is failing to do his job by stalling negotiations with congressional Democrats over a new round of economic aid. 

“It’s dereliction of duty,” McGrath said. “We knew the coronavirus wasn’t gonna end in June. And he knew it too and he goes on vacation. Says that it’s not urgent to come up with another deal to make sure that we continue to have the resources to get through this virus.”

McGrath said the pandemic underscores the importance of the Affordable Care Act, and hit back at McConnell for his continued efforts to repeal the law. She said Graves County specifically saw a massive reduction in the number of uninsured people since the ACA’s enactment. 

With U.S. Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Judge Amy Coney Barrett slated to begin October 12, McGrath said the Senate should not fill the vacancy left after Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death in accordance with the “McConnell Rule” established in 2016. McConnell cited the upcoming presidential election in 2016 when he refused to hold confirmation hearings for Judge Merrick Garland after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in February 2016. 

“Here we are...28 days from until an election and he’s trying to ram through a Supreme Court justice,” McGrath said. “For that reason alone, we should get rid of him.”

McGrath said she supports establishing term limits for members of Congress. McConnell was first elected in 1984 and is seeking reelection to a seventh six-year term. This is McGrath’s second run for political office; she was defeated by Congressman Andy Barr in the 2018 election for Kentucky’s sixth congressional district.

 

Dalton York is a Morning Edition host and reporter for WKYU in Bowling Green. He is a graduate of Murray State University, where he majored in History with a minor in Nonprofit Leadership Studies. While attending Murray State, he worked as a student reporter at WKMS. A native of Marshall County, he is a proud product of his tight-knit community.
Related Content