Republicans Still Shamelessly Touting COVID Relief They Voted Against

WASHINGTON, DC Ð JANUARY 8: Rep. Greg Pence (R-IN), brother of Vice President Mike Pence, arrives for a briefing with members of the U.S. House of Representatives about the situation with Iran, at the U.S. Capitol on January 8, 2020 in Washington, DC. Members of the House and the Senate are expected to be briefed by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, CIA Director Gina Haspel and Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire. In response to the U.S. killing of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, Iranian forces launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles against two military bases in Iraq early Wednesday local time. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC JANUARY 8: Rep. Greg Pence (R-IN) Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
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The proud tradition of Republican lawmakers touting provisions of the American Rescue Plan that they voted against continues this week.

One entry comes courtesy of a lawmaker with a rather high-profile sibling: Rep. Greg Pence (R-IN), brother of former Vice President Mike Pence. 

“Help is on the way” Greg Pence tweeted Wednesday, flanking his tweet with siren emojis. 

Pence, like every other Republican in the entirety of Congress, voted against the bill that included the restaurant revitalization funds.

“We consistently direct constituents to information they may find useful,” Hannah Osantowske, Pence’s communications director, told TPM. “Congressman Pence is always looking for a silver lining hiding in a big lump of shit if it helps out his constituents.”

Rep. Beth Van Duyne (R-TX) joined the exclusive club Wednesday as well, advertising the same provision of the law.

Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY) jumped on the bandwagon Thursday afternoon.

Neither Van Duyne nor Tenney’s offices immediately returned TPM’s request for comment.

The poster-child for the growing group is Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), who also touted the restaurant revitalization measure and got thoroughly thwacked on Twitter for it. Wicker snapped at a reporter who inquired about the seeming hypocrisy, calling it a “stupid question.” “I’m not gonna vote for $1.9 trillion just because it has a couple of good provisions,” he said.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) predicted such a GOP turnaround, laying the groundwork during press briefings even before the American Rescue Plan passed on the backs of Democrats back in March. The Republicans will “say no and take the dough” she prophesied. 

She was speaking from experience. Back in 2009, Republicans brazenly took credit for funding from former President Barack Obama’s stimulus package despite aggressively campaigning and voting against it.

“I have to point out, though, that some of the very same folks in Congress who opposed the Recovery Act — and claim that it hasn’t worked — have been all too happy to claim credit for Recovery Act projects and the jobs those projects have produced,” a disgruntled Obama said at a 2010 town hall. “They come to the ribbon-cuttings. They found a way to have their cake and vote against it, too.”

This story has been updated with a tweet from Rep. Tenney and a comment from Rep. Pence’s office.

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