A “happy” Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) announced to his constituents on Twitter on Tuesday the arrival of millions of dollars worth of federal grants to health institutions in his western North Carolina district. Unannounced, however, was the fact that Cawthorn voted against the legislation that sent the grants out in the first place.
In February, the 25-year old freshman lawmaker joined all House Republicans in voting against the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 bill, dubbed the American Rescue Plan Act. In a tweet after the vote, he slammed it, arguing that only 9 percent of the funds went to combating COVID-19. “Just a Pelosi Payoff,” he tweeted. On Tuesday, Cawthorn said he was “proud” to see taxpayer dollars “return” to his district through the grant funding. North Carolina’s Health Resources & Services Administration includes the projects he listed, including their exact dollar amounts, as “American Rescue Plan Awards.” Cawthorn’s office did not immediately respond to comment from The Daily Beast about the tweet.
Cawthorn is hardly the only Republican to try having it both ways on the relief package, which the GOP slammed in Washington but has found to be popular back home. Shortly after it passed, Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) praised a provision to aid struggling restaurants, and multiple GOP lawmakers have devoted time and resources to helping constituents access the new round of stimulus checks that they voted against sending out.
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