After “Getting Hammered” For Failing to Pass COVID Relief, Perdue and Republicans Cut Relief in Half to Try and Fool Georgians

Perdue “fought against” $1200 stimulus checks and has been in lockstep with McConnell to obstruct aid for eight months

ATLANTA — After months of obstruction, former corporate CEO Senator David Perdue is joining his fellow Senate Republicans in trying to take credit for a long-delayed coronavirus relief bill that slashes direct economic stimulus checks in half. 

It has been widely reported that Republicans only got on board with any kind of relief because they recognized Perdue’s vulnerabilities after his opponent Jon Ossoff has battered him for weeks because Perdue “personally opposed” direct relief all year.

Days ago, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell privately told Republicans that Perdue was “getting hammered” for Republicans’ failure to deliver more pandemic aid to Americans who lost their jobs and health care coverage due to no fault of their own, and that COVID relief could give Perdue a “boost” amid his struggling reelection campaign. Ossoff has been hitting Perdue for prioritizing his stock portfolio over helping Georgia families and small businesses who are struggling in the pandemic.

This series of events indicates that if Mitch McConnell is able to hold on to his majority he will oppose any further relief. 

Earlier this year, Perdue said he “held [his] nose” to vote for economic relief and led the charge to cut unemployment benefits for families. Perdue said he “personally opposed” relief while he was working to profit off the pandemic with a series of shady stock trades. Now, Perdue is touting the inadequate stimulus deal, a deceptive ploy to trick Georgians into believing he supports real relief for workers and small businesses as a last ditch effort to bail out his flailing reelection bid.

“Senator Perdue fought tooth and nail against direct stimulus checks all year, and now that Perdue can’t hide from his opposition of relief to hardworking families, he’s pretending to support aid to Georgians so he can take credit for it,” said Braxton Brewington, spokesman for the Democratic Party of Georgia. “Georgia voters won’t be fooled by Perdue’s last ditch effort to get elected with a stimulus check he cut in half because they saw Perdue’s failure to deliver results during the past eight months.”

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