(Washington, D.C.) – Today, Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) named House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) our April 2020 Porker of the Month for trying to take advantage of the coronavirus crisis to promote a radical agenda.

On March 19, 2020, Rep. Clyburn called the COVID-19 pandemic “a tremendous opportunity to restructure things to fit our vision.”  By “our vision,” Rep. Clyburn meant the House Democrats’ attempt to take advantage of the crisis to shove frivolous expenditures into the $2.2 trillion CARES Act and make permanent changes to many wasteful programs.  When he introduced the emergency spending bill, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) warned, “Anything that doesn't address that pandemic, it seems to me, should not be considered.”  In spite of that reasonable request, Rep. Clyburn and House Democrats leveraged the bill to include items like a $25 million bailout for the Kennedy Center, which subsequently fired its staff.  They continue to hold up needed spending like additional funds for small business payroll protection in an attempt to add even more unrelated projects and programs. 

CAGW President Tom Schatz said, “Majority Whip Clyburn should be ashamed for trying to exploit a global pandemic to advance Democrats’ radical agenda.  In 2008, Rahm Emanuel said, ‘never let a crisis go to waste.’  Rep. Clyburn and House Democrats are taking his words to the extreme by spreading their contagious spending plans at a steep cost to taxpayers.  They need to stop playing dangerous political games during an unprecedented healthcare and economic crisis.  It is disgraceful that Rep. Clyburn would pursue an agenda that will not save lives or help revitalize the economy.” 

Citizens Against Government Waste is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.  For more than two decades, Porker of the Month is a dubious honor given to lawmakers and government officials who have shown a blatant disregard for the interests of taxpayers.