Respond to prefers-color-scheme dark in app web views

Follow section front redirects in Spectrum

Enable NLP source in PCS for load testing

Switch off the News Alerts Survey Widget when we have enough responses

Poll to determine if new LUF updates are available

Allows the winning A/B test variant to be turned on without Spectrum deployment

Show expanded byline information on articles

Show infinite scrolling sections in Assembler MultiView

Show option for NLP article summaries in Action Bar

Show NLP summaries collection recirc on article pages

A general feature flag for Recipe Features that aren't yet released

Feature flag for media team features that aren't yet released

Use new Orca video player for preroll plugin in Spectrum

Show the snow tracker (instead of the heat tracker) on Spectrum

Veterans became eligible for billions. These firms saw a chance to profit.

In the GOP House, details of Trump’s trials are an unfair personal attack

Alito and Thomas haven’t recused. Why?

In photos: Deadly tornadoes devastate southwest Iowa

In photos: Iranians attend funeral of fallen president Ebrahim Raisi 

Where heat waves might cause blackouts: Look up your area

NASA again delays the launch of Boeing’s troubled Starliner spacecraft

Meta walked away from news. Now the company’s using it for AI content.

OpenAI didn’t copy Scarlett Johansson’s voice for ChatGPT, records show

Kittens or puppies? Animals left at shelter turned out to be foxes — again.

A teen dropped out of high school during WWII. Now 99, she just graduated.

Would you eat this weird sandwich? Barry Enderwick would. 

Miss Manners: Rude shopper’s comment hurt my husband

Carolyn Hax: Wife of local celebrity chef is tired of ‘foodie groupies’

Ask Amy: Husband wants to ‘deepen’ friendship with single, younger woman

A hidden threat

This ‘doomsday’ glacier is more vulnerable than scientists once thought

How cockroaches came to rule the world

Washington Post announces new subscription plans in bid to boost revenue

Israel returns seized AP equipment after stopping Gaza video feed

Prince Harry loses bid to include Rupert Murdoch in hacking lawsuit  

Middle East conflict live updates: Israel tells negotiators to continue hostage talks after video released

China begins military drills around Taiwan as ‘punishment’ for new president

How Mexico’s cartels infiltrated the tortilla business 

Nats shift from uplifting to deflating during a 10-0 loss to the Twins

Opportunity came knocking twice for the Nationals. No one was home.

The Commanders believe they have their quarterback. Can they protect him?

The sooner the FDIC ‘boys club’ gets a new leader, the better

The military is encroaching on Mexican democracy

Iran has lost its president. Its people need to regain their freedom.

How to find hidden cameras in an Airbnb, according to a security expert

At long last, Southwest is now part of Google Flights

The race up a Hong Kong tower covered in 40 feet of buns

WAUKESHA, WI - MAY 1st: Former president Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally on Wednesday May 1st, 2024.  (Photo by Sara Stathas for the Washington Post)

Health

Well+Being

Opinions

Higher Education

Education

https://www.washingtonpost.com/coronavirus/

Coronavirus pandemic

See more coverage in your recommendations

Get the weekly Campaign Moment newsletter

Set alerts for major election developments

Election 2024

The Campaign Moment newsletter

Politics alerts

Is your state going to go bankrupt over the novel <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/coronavirus/" target="_blank" class="contextual_link">coronavirus</a> pandemic?

Probably not. Even though Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) recently proposed letting that happen and President Trump seems to be open to that rather than what governors are asking for: hundreds of billions in federal aid.

Not helping states out now could wreak economic havoc; it isn’t allowed under the Constitution, anyway, and pushing this could be a political liability for Republicans in November.

Experts that The Fix talked to also say that the federal government arguably has a strong responsibility to help states and municipalities stay afloat during the coronavirus pandemic. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R), through his role as the head of National Governors Association, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/hogan-joins-other-governors-in-asking-congress-for-500-billion-as-coronavirus-cases-rise-in-the-dc-region/2020/04/11/939f1522-7bfb-11ea-9bee-c5bf9d2e3288_story.html" target="_blank">has asked Congress for $500 billion,</a> which would be the single largest rescue bill ever for states.

Congress is still debating how much, if any, to give states in another coronavirus aid package. Democrats warn they won’t vote for an aid bill without this money.

Beyond that, here are the reasons it’s not likely that Republicans will let states go bankrupt — or leave them without any money.

1. State bankruptcy is not allowed. It could muddy state vs. federal powers as laid out in the Constitution by giving the federal government — via a federal judge in bankruptcy court — authority over a state’s affairs. Congress would have to pass legislation allowing this to happen, and Democrats are opposed to that. So are some Republicans; it’s hard to go home to your constituents and explain why you don’t want to help fund your state in a health and economic crisis.

2. It could cause severe economic distress. Even if Congress managed to allow it, letting states go bankrupt could <a href="https://s2.washingtonpost.com/28dab92/5ea89c75fe1ff6628906aa5e/cGhpbGxpcHMuYW1iZXIuakBnbWFpbC5jb20%3D/19/48/67808ff3655e5e46d31d810397c07144">tip us into a depression </a>and worsen the health crisis, experts warn. States and localities do a lot — staff county hospitals, turn on people’s water and take out the garbage. Most states are required by law to balance their budgets every year, so without an influx of federal aid, they would have no choice but to lay off a lot of these workers. That’s<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/04/29/cities-states-layoffs-furloughs-coronavirus/" target=_blank> already starting to happen </a>in some states. And that could be catastrophic for the average American who relies on so many state- and local-run services, from running water to education. “Everyone knows if you cannot provide basic services, there is no economy,” said Amy Liu, the director of the metropolitan policy program at Brookings Institution.

“The alternative is not bankruptcy,” New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) said Monday on CNBC. “The alternative is we will gut the living daylights out of the very services that our folks now are desperately relying upon in what is the biggest health-care crisis in the history of our country.”

It could also disrupt the bond markets and state’s borrowing powers. States finance much of their services through bonds, which are generally thought to be reliable precisely because states can’t just go bankrupt. What happens to the bond market and states’ ability to borrow money if that changes, asked Karol Denniston, a municipal bankruptcy lawyer at Squire Patton Boggs. (Cities, unlike states, can declare bankruptcy. Detroit <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/governor-emergency-manager-defend-detroit-bankruptcy/2013/07/19/3d1fb772-f081-11e2-9008-61e94a7ea20d_story.html" target=_blank>did in 2013</a>.)

As Trump puts partisan spin on federal aid for states, Republicans and Democrats warn of coming financial calamity

Kathy Plonka

3. There is no evidence blue states are more mismanaged than red states, as Trump claims. “Red states and blue states alike face severe economic pressures as a result of covid-19,” said Luke Martel, an expert on state retirement funds at the nonpartisan National Conference of State Legislatures, in an email. “Unfunded pension liabilities are not a new phenomenon and are not associated with a particular party.”

<a href="https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/issue-briefs/2019/06/the-state-pension-funding-gap-2017" target="_blank">A recent Pew Charitable Trusts study </a>of states’ retirement funds as of fiscal year 2017 finds Kentucky has one of the worst-funded in the nation, alongside Illinois and New Jersey.

So tables can be turned on Republicans with this argument. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has argued that Illinois’s budget problems really ballooned when the state had a Republican governor. A state’s particular budget difficulties are hard to pin down to one moment, but it underscores there’s no clear perpetrator of which states spent the most money before the crisis. Plus, Republicans control more states than Democrats. There are 21 states that are run by a Republican governor and Republican legislature, compared to 15 Democratic-run states.

4. It could be a political vulnerability for Republicans. As Senate Democrats <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/04/24/senate-rankings/" target=_blank>try to take back the majority in November</a>, their campaign arm is attacking vulnerable Republican senators who express skepticism for state aid or don’t explicitly oppose McConnell’s bankruptcy proposal. They’ve also launched a new Facebook ad against McConnell — who is also up for reelection in 2020, although he is the clear favorite — airing his bankruptcy comments.

Lower-income states are more dependent on the federal government because they get more money than they put in, said Tracy Gordon with the Urban Institute. Some of the lowest-income states are in the Appalachia and South, led by Republicans and where Trump is popular. That means Trump supporters are as likely as his opponents to bear the brunt of this. New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D) has pointed out that Kentucky, McConnell’s state, takes more federal dollars than his state.

5. McConnell appears to have backed off. He still seems resistant to giving states hundreds of billions of dollars, but he also isn’t out there championing bankruptcy as the other option after his initial comments. Instead, he told Fox News’s Brian Kilmeade on Wednesday that he’s open to more aid but is going to insist on “reform” for states, for example. Experts that The Fix spoke to say there’s an easy way around Republicans’ concerns that states could misuse the money Congress gives them: just don’t allow states to spend it on pensions. Congress originally approved $150 billion for states and localities and added strings to how they could spend it.

Patrick Semansky

6. You could argue it’s not fair — or even hypocritical — to blame states for mismanagement now. “You had this public health asteroid that just hit everybody, including state governments, and certainly some states were better prepared than others, but it’s not like their own actions contributed to this disaster,” said Gordon of the Urban Institute.

The Trump administration also usually gives states the benefit of the doubt,  for example, that they knew best how to spend any money that came from an infrastructure deal, said Liu, the municipal policy expert. Now, Trump is arguing when it comes to the coronavirus pandemic, some states can’t be trusted. “You can’t have it both ways,” she said.

Finally, costly pensions — which McConnell and others have singled out as reason No. 1 to be skeptical to help states — didn’t start with today’s governors, said Denniston, the municipal bankruptcy lawyer. “For the current governors, this is a legacy problem,” she said. “They didn’t create it. They are trying to deal with it.”

Gordon likened the coronavirus pandemic to a natural disaster the size of which Congress has never dealt with before. “When a hurricane hits, people don’t usually ask about what kind of financial decisions a state made in the past,” she said. “But the problem here is the hurricane hit 50 states, so it’s harder to muster a response, because it will be more sustained and more uncertain.”

The Fix was an official honoree for best political blog in the 2017 Webby Awards

Texas Christian University, bachelor's degree in international relations and Spanish

Amber Phillips explains and analyzes politics and authors The 5-Minute Fix newsletter, a quick analysis of the day's biggest political news. 

Amber Phillips

washpost

Will states go bankrupt amid the coronavirus pandemic?

the-washington-post

Mitch McConnell

U.S. cases and deaths by state

World map

New CDC guidance

When am I still contagious?

The people who never get covid

Coronavirus

iptc-media/economy_business_and_finance/business_information

iptc-media/politics/government

iptc-media/politics/political_process

iptc-media/economy_business_and_finance

iptc-media/crime_law_and_justice

iptc-media/politics

iptc-media/economy_business_and_finance/business_information/business_finance

iptc-media/economy_business_and_finance/economy

iptc-media/economy_business_and_finance/economy/macro_economics

iptc-media/science_and_technology

iptc-media/health

iptc-media/politics/election

iptc-media/economy_business_and_finance/business_information/business_finance/bankruptcy

client-blocklists/Client List: Morgan Stanley KWs - INCLUDES ANY

client-blocklists/Amazon KWs - EXCLUDE ALL 

client-blocklists/Client List: Becton Dickinson KWs - EXCLUDES ALL

client-blocklists/CLIENT LIST: Nomura KWs 2021 - EXCLUDES ALL

client-blocklists/Boeing KWs 2021- INCLUDE ANY

client-blocklists/Client List: Exxon Mobil  - INCLUDES ANY

client-blocklists/GEICO KWs - INCLUDES ANY_4.26.21

client-blocklists/Client List: Microsoft KWs 2 - INCLUDES ANY

client-blocklists/Client List: T. Rowe Price KWs - INCLUDES ANY

advertising/B2_Affluent_legacyaux_eqw

client-blocklists/T. Rowe Price KWs - INCLUDES ANY

client-blocklists/HBO KWs - INCLUDES ANY

client-blocklists/Client List: ExxonMobil 03312021 KWs - EXCLUDES ALL

client-blocklists/Ford/Lincoln KWs - INCLUDES ANY

client-blocklists/Bank of America KWs - EXCLUDES ALL

advertising/Siemens Continuum KWs

advertising/Flu, Sickness & Virus Content

client-blocklists/WaPo: Combined Disaster Keyword List - INCLUDES ANY

advertising/Coronavirus Content

advertising/Blackrock - Finance and Investing Content

advertising/American History Content

advertising/B2_Business_legacyaux_hws

advertising/B2_Congressional Elections_legacyaux_r48

advertising/B2_Congress_legacyaux_27r

client-blocklists/Client List: Eli Lily KWs - INCLUDES ANY

advertising/B2_Entrepreneurship_legacyaux_sqb

client-blocklists/Client List: Purina KWs - EXCLUDES ALL

advertising/Citrix Mindfulness

advertising/B2_Finance_legacyaux_jfq

advertising/B2_Government & Policy_legacyaux_mza

advertising/Client Keywords: On Running

advertising/Racing and Nascar Enthusiasts

client-blocklists/BP KWs - INCLUDES ANY

advertising/B2_Investing Gurus 2.12.15_legacyaux_14h

advertising/B2_LGBT & Same Sex Marriage_legacyaux_l3o

advertising/B2_Markets_legacyaux_rnd

advertising/B2_Policy and Regulation_legacyaux_qe2

advertising/B2_Politically Active - DO NOT REMOVE_legacyaux_lmp

advertising/B2_Politics and Policy_legacyaux_pay

advertising/B2_Politics_legacyaux_8f3

advertising/B2_Positive News_legacyaux_hlt

advertising/B2_Retailers_legacyaux_7ui

advertising/B2_Retirement Planners 2.12.15_legacyaux_k9i

advertising/B2_Space_legacyaux_gno

advertising/B2_State Governments_legacyaux_4lq

advertising/B2_STEM Enthusiasts_legacyaux_gx0

advertising/B2_Young Professional / International Businessman_legacyaux_r5x

client-blocklists/Client List: GEICO KWs

client-blocklists/Client List: KPMG KWs - EXCLUDES ALL

client-blocklists/Client List: Novo Nordisk KWs - EXCLUDES ALL

client-blocklists/Client List: Siemens KWs - EXCLUDES ALL

client-blocklists/Client List: Cisco KWs - INCLUDES ANY

client-blocklists/Client List: Capital Concerts KWs - EXCLUDES ALL

client-blocklists/Client List: AT&T ALT KWs - INCLUDES ANY

client-blocklists/Mercedes KWs - INCLUDES ANY

client-blocklists/FX Excludes All Disney

client-blocklists/Client List: PMI KWs - EXCLUDES ALL

client-blocklists/Client List: Inpixon KWs - INCLUDES ANY

client-blocklists/Client List: Boeing KWs - INCLUDES ANY

client-blocklists/Client List: Navy Federal Credit Union NFCU KWs 2 - INCLUDES ANY - 12.23.20

client-blocklists/Client List: Google KWs - INCLUDES ALL

client-blocklists/Client List: AT&T KWs 2021 - INCLUDES ANY

client-blocklists/Philip Morris KWs - INCLUDES ANY 

client-blocklists/Dupixent neg kws - EXCLUDES ALL

client-blocklists/Capital One KWs 2 - INCLUDES ANY - 1.4.21

client-blocklists/Bank of America Merrill Lynch KWs - EXCLUDES ALL

client-blocklists/CME KWs - EXCLUDES ALL

client-blocklists/Google PG KWs - INCLUDES ANY

client-blocklists/Chase KWs - EXCLUDES ALL

client-blocklists/Client List: Office Depot KWs - INCLUDES ANY

client-blocklists/Client List: ETrade KWs - EXCLUDES ALL

prism://prism.query/site,/politics/the-fix?limit=20

The Fix

The Washington Post's political analysis blog.

prism://prism.query/site-articles-only,/politics&limit=20

Cut through the 2024 election noise. Get The Campaign Moment newsletter.

Politics

Post Politics from The Washington Post is the source for political news headlines, in-depth politics coverage and political opinion, plus breaking news on the biden administration and White House, Congress, the Supreme Court, elections and more.

prism://prism.query/site,/politics/the-fix&limit=6

prism://prism.query/tag,magnet-coronavirus&limit=20

News and updates about the coronavirus pandemic: Cases in the US, death toll, what you need to know about the virus, how to prepare, how to get tested.