Pelosi's and McConnell's homes vandalized: 'Where's my money?'

Citizens frustrated by the lack of financial benefits during the ongoing pandemic have taken matters into their own hands. Over the weekend, angry citizens took to the homes of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, vandalizing their entryways with graffiti. Despite attempts to mandate a second stimulus check worth $2,000, Americans were stuck with a measly $600 check to tide them through the next few months of the public health crisis. The suspects responsible for the graffiti are yet to be identified, but many have sympathized with them as investigations get underway, CNN reports.

Scrawled on McConnell's door in gray spray paint early Saturday morning were three words: "Were's [sic] my money." The Kentucky Republican denounced the act, calling it a "radical tantrum." "Vandalism and the politics of fear have no place in our society," he affirmed in a statement. "My wife and I have never been intimidated by this toxic playbook. We just hope our neighbors in Louisville aren't too inconvenienced by this radical tantrum." However, this was evidently a non-partisan act of vandalism as Pelosi's property was vandalized in the same manner, indicating deep grievances with the federal government overall.

A property in San Francisco belonging to Pelosi was vandalized early Friday morning. In addition to graffiti, the suspects left behind a parting gift for the Democrat. The San Francisco Police Department announced in a statement, "Unidentified suspect(s) had painted graffiti on the garage door and left a pig's head on the sidewalk." The SFPD Special Investigations Division is currently investigating the act of vandalism. Though the incidents have been marked independently of each other, they are both the result of a failed Senate vote for a $2,000 stimulus check on Friday, right before the end of the 116th Congress.

Senate Democrats and independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont rallied, without success, for $2,000 stimulus checks. However, their efforts were blocked by Senate Republicans, including, of course, Senator McConnell. He and other Republicans argued that increasing the amount paid out through stimulus checks would not achieve the "targeted relief" that is required to address the economic distress induced by the ongoing pandemic. This is despite the fact that President Donald Trump specifically called for stimulus checks worth $2,000. The House of Representatives, too, voted on a measure to increase the value of direct payments to all American citizens.

Following President Trump's complaints on last week's bipartisan effort that included $600 stimulus checks for many Americans, Pelosi and other Democrats moved quickly to bring legislation on increased payments. This was passed on Monday. McConnell has reiterated on several occasions that the $2,000 amount was "simply not the right approach." He argued that it was, in his words, "socialism for rich people." Nonetheless, Congress passed a second stimulus package including $600 direct payments, half the amount provided in the first stimulus package. This perhaps highlights the motive behind the acts of vandalism seen over the weekend as we entered the new year.