Blackburn: COVID Relief Bill a ‘Federal Power Grab’ — ‘They’re Trying to Force Their Will and Centralize Federal Government’

During an appearance on FNC’s “The Next Revolution,” Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) warned the so-called COVID relief package passed by Congress earlier this month did more than just offer relief but was an effort to make local governments beholden to the federal government, which she deemed a “power grab.”

“It is a federal power grab,” she said. “And Steve, what they’re trying to do is go for control and power over all the states and the cities. They’re trying to force their will and centralize federal government. So this is the way they’re going about it, and if you take the money, then you cannot cut taxes. Now, the reason they’re doing this, I think, is because you have several state legislatures this year that are trying to do what Tennessee did probably 20 years ago, which is to make certain that we never have a state income tax and even putting it in our state constitution in 2014, in the form of an amendment.”

“But Steve, the Federal government wants to tax you so that they have more to spend,” Blackburn continued. “So if they’re going to give money to your local governments, they want you to be beholden to the federal government. So it doesn’t matter if it is telling you how you can tax when you can tax. It doesn’t matter if it’s telling you how you’re going to run elections. It doesn’t matter if it’s about gun rights. What they’re trying to do is take control and micromanage every city, every county, and every state in this country.”

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