Senate Majority Leader “Moscow” Mitch McConnell had two former staffers lobbying to put a $200 million Russian aluminum plant in Kentucky.
Two former top staffers to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have lobbied Congress and the Treasury Department on the development of a new Kentucky aluminum mill backed by the Russian aluminum giant Rusal, according to a new lobbying disclosure.
The disclosure comes as Democrats are pushing the Trump administration to review Rusal’s $200 million investment in the Kentucky project — concerned that the mill will supply the Defense Department — and as McConnell weathers criticism for helping block a congressional effort to stop the investment.
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Democrats have raised national security concerns, and there are issues with the fact that the project was greenlit three months after McConnell blocked the efforts of Democrats to reimpose sanctions on Rusal. There are legitimate worries about how this project came to be and what it means for the security of the United States.
Mitch McConnell’s former staffers were behind the deal to get a $200 million Russian investment in McConnell’s state.
The nickname Moscow Mitch is looking more appropriate by the second, as the entire deal shows that the close financial links between Russia and Republicans go beyond Donald Trump. The Russians have purchased themselves the party that Ronald Reagan once called home.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
