ICYMI: Sen. Young withdraws support for $1 trillion infrastructure bill
Todd Young continues pattern of rewriting his own history ahead of 2022 reelection – ignoring vote to eliminate filibuster for U.S. Supreme Court justice nominees
INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Democratic Party, the organization that advocates for the future of Indiana and its families, today criticized U.S. Senator Todd Young for celebrating President Joe Biden’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act behind closed doors to stakeholders – despite voting “NO” and flip-flopping on his support last fall. The Senator (via staff) sent an email to the Indianapolis Airport Authority in December (see below) to notify the municipal corporation about the Jobs Act’s $65.6 million investments for city airports. In fact, Young’s office said they were “pleased” about the investments delivered by the law that only Indiana Democrats supported.
Todd Young – like the rest of the Indiana Republican Party – showed Hoosiers their culture wars and extreme partisanship come before everything else, even Indiana’s future.
“The final score is what matters most – not participation trophies – and Todd Young’s behind-the-scenes effort to still get credit for The Jobs Act after he voted ‘NO’ is as sad and pathetic as it gets. Hoosiers will remember Senator Young turned his back on them when it mattered most – and it was all an effort to suck up to former President Trump,” said Lauren Ganapini, executive director of the Indiana Democratic Party. “Republicans like Todd Young continue to prove their culture wars come before Indiana’s future. If they’re willing to call infrastructure investments ‘socialism’ on Twitter, then they must be prepared to be held accountable by voters when the facts don’t match their partisanship.”
Here’s the problem with this hypocrisy: Todd Young has often used his office to slam Democrats’ economic agenda that includes transformative investments in broadband, roads/bridges, and airports – calling it a “socialist agenda”. What’s worse, it appears the Senator is trying to rewrite his history overall ahead of this fall’s election year. Young condemned the Democrats’ objective to eliminate the filibuster in the U.S. Senate to pass voting rights legislation last week – despite voting to do the exact thing in 2017 for U.S. Supreme Court justice nominees.
Further, Young’s email continued a long pattern by the Indiana GOP of trying to have it both ways with the Democrats’ economic agenda. INGOP Chairman Kyle Hupfer and Congressional Republicans call programs like the American Rescue Plan and The Jobs Act “socialism” despite touting the state’s READI and Next Level Connections programs (which are fully-funded by the Rescue Plan). U.S. Congressmen Greg Pence touted the Restaurant Revitalization Fund last year despite voting “NO” on the American Rescue Plan.
Here’s a look at Todd Young’s recent partisan hypocrisy:
SHOT: Todd Young Slams Democrats over Economic Agenda, Voting Rights Legislation
“Trillions in socialist spending by President Biden have burdened middle class Hoosier families with the highest cost of living increases in nearly four decades.” – Todd Young, January 12.2022
“ICYMI: I said it in my first speech on this floor, and I will repeat it until my last speech. We are, above all else, the custodians of the common good. Remember that before you take a hammer to one of the Senate’s signature means of advancing it.” – Todd Young, January 15, 2022
CHASER: Todd Young Celebrates Economic Agenda in Private, Voted to Carve Out Filibuster for U.S. Supreme Court Nominees
Todd Young sends email to Indianapolis Airport Authority touting The Jobs Act and its investments to the state’s airport systems
Todd Young votes to end U.S. Senate filibuster on U.S. Supreme Court justice nominees in 2017
“By 2017, roles had reversed — Republicans held the majority in the Senate, and President Donald Trump sat in the Oval Office.
After Senate Democrats, now in the minority, filibustered the confirmation of Judge Neil Gorsuch — Trump’s first nominee to the Supreme Court — McConnell engineered his own ‘nuclear option.’
The Republican-controlled Senate voted 52-48 to reduce the vote threshold for confirming nominees to the Supreme Court from 60 to 51, per The New York Times.
(The need for a 60-vote supermajority still exists for legislation.)” – USA Today
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