Mitch McConnell says Democrats are pushing the "president's half-baked socialism" as battle over COVID relief intensifies

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell unleashed a scathing takedown of Democrats' COVID-19 relief proposals on Wednesday, charging that President Joe Biden is attempting to push "half-baked socialism." The sharp comments underscore the deep differences between the two parties as they attempt to hammer out a coronavirus relief package that can be enacted into law.<br><br>"We don't need a package that ladles out billions more in special-interest pork here and there in a way that barely addresses the actual public health crisis," McConnell said in a Senate floor speech.<br><br>He added: "Washington Democrats want to provide less than a month's worth of targeted aid that is going out the door right now, and instead use the next six months ship out billions of dollars in money that has nothing to do with the pandemic."<br><br>McConnell's remarks are the latest indication of how far apart the two parties are on what the next coronavirus package should look like. Democrats are moving to pass a plan along party lines as part of the budget reconciliation process, a procedural mechanism that allows certain bills to bypass the Senate's 60-vote filibuster threshold. Democrats are moving to pass a plan along party lines as part of the budget reconciliation process, a procedural mechanism that allows certain bills to bypass the Senate's 60-vote filibuster threshold.<br><br>"They want schools to stay shut and the workplace closed and set aside less than 1% of their massive effort for the actual Covid vaccines they say we need," he said. "The president's partisan slush fund is a classic example of what Washington does when nobody is looking. He wants to hastily push it out the door and then come back for even more, and more, and more in coming months."<br><br>Democrats fired back at McConnell, charging that he is no longer interested in finding common ground.<br><br>"We wanted to work with our Republican colleagues on COVID-relief, but in an effort to get bipartisanship, we can't engage in being bipartisan in name only," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said. "We cannot water down and compromise our basic values for the sake of bipartisanship."<br><br>Biden has proposed a $1.9 trillion COVID relief plan that provides funding for vaccine distribution and administration, sends $1,400 checks to the majority of Americans and expands COVID-related unemployment benefits, among other provisions. But Republicans are pushing for a much more targeted bill that is less expensive.