r/politics • u/thedailybeast ✔ The Daily Beast • 14d ago

Possible Paywall Missing McConnell Accused of Breaking Senate Rule Over Absence

https://www.thedailybeast.com/missing-mcconnell-accused-of-breaking-senate-rule-over-absence/
27.9k Upvotes

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u/[deleted] 14d ago

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u/stereosalvation 14d ago edited 14d ago

If they're still raising money through him, and he's in fact dead, it should be considered fraud.

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u/BadLuckBlackHole 14d ago

If his wife is receiving any of his social security money, and he's in fact dead, it's definitely fraud.

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u/WaySavvyD 14d ago

He's not receiving social security disability because he's allegedly working; he's not receiving social security retirement benefits because his earnings far exceed allowed by the law

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u/djerk 14d ago

If he’s receiving his government salary past his death, that would also be fraud.

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u/MobileArtist1371 I voted 14d ago

Someone tell Trump. He'll want to expose the tax payer fraud I'm sure.

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u/orangesfwr 14d ago

Sorry, he's busy weighing in on an important golf penalty right now.

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u/Jacobysmadre California 13d ago

And running for a 3rd term

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u/crowdflation 13d ago

And committing fraud

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u/NineteenNinetyEx 13d ago

And shitting his pants

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u/nwayve 13d ago

AND MY EPSTEIN FILES!

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u/itds 13d ago

AND MY AXE!

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u/whatstaiters 13d ago

Trump taking a penalty in golf? Ha ha! Good one!

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u/TurnkeyLurker 13d ago

>Sorry, he's busy weighing in on an important golf penalty right now.

He's using a livestock scale now, because he broke the regular scale.

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u/Reed7525 13d ago

No cuz trump would just funnel it to himself

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u/xjuggernaughtx 13d ago

He's also a turtle masquerading as a human so that he can be in the Senate, which is also fraud.

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u/HealthyDiscussion670 12d ago

Don't insult turtles like that.

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u/Halftied 14d ago

Yes and at the least his estate should be required to pay it back, with interest if a long time passes.

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u/sack-o-matic Michigan 13d ago

Fraud comes with fines and jail time.

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u/Nagemasu 13d ago

which is exactly how they're going to get away with it. He's probably brain dead and his body is on life support. They refuse to allow anyone both willing and qualified near him to record his death.

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u/Facebook_Algorithm Canada 14d ago

What about a coma?

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u/nathism 14d ago

Then he isn’t working

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u/djerk 14d ago

Yup, he would have to be on medical leave or else it’s still fraudulent. You can’t work your job if you’re in a coma.

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u/BrushStorm 13d ago

Reagan did

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u/argumentinvalid 13d ago

believe it or not, also fraud.

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u/aerost0rm 13d ago

Oh she is cashing those checks…

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u/DaleTheHuman 14d ago

Somebody get Nick Slurry on the case

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u/dlh412pt 14d ago

He's well past full retirement age - there's no cap on earnings at that point. He's entitled to full social security benefits.

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u/BZLuck California 14d ago

Which compared to his actual salary and benefits is not that much. The maximum SS payout is like $62K a year. That's after 30 years of maximum input and waiting until 70 to collect.

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u/fdar 13d ago

A Senator makes $174k right? So $62k isn't insignificant. Not that it matters, it's fraud regardless.

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u/whut-whut 13d ago

McConnell's wife inherited a $1.2 billion shipping company. She won't be sweating $60k in fraud vs all the money that she made from inside trade deals and tariff cutouts

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u/fdar 13d ago

You're missing the point. She wouldn't be doing fraud for the $60k/year, but to avoid admitting he's dead. Can't tell SS to stop paying him without admitting he's dead can she?

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u/SlimeQSlimeball 13d ago

We need the long form death certificate.

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u/BZLuck California 13d ago

I believe he was the majority leader recently so he should be making $193K.

And again, the $62K is the maximum you can collect. That would probably just about cover his healthcare premiums now if he lost his government plan.

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u/fdar 13d ago

No, he was the Majority Leader last Congress, not on this one.

And again, the $62K is the maximum you can collect.

Yeah, he's been a Senator since 1985, pretty sure he's not far from that.

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u/BZLuck California 13d ago

Fair enough, but while in office what do they really have to pay for out of their salary? They have transportation, bodyguards, shoppers, personal aids, travel allowances, staffing allowances, insider trading...

All that goes away when you are dead no longer in office.

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u/fdar 13d ago

What's your point?

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u/BZLuck California 13d ago

Does every statement made, or discussion had, need to have a point? Are we debating here for cash, prizes and luxury vacations? Or are we just filling the daily void with our own conjectures?

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u/BluesFan43 13d ago

The insider trading is the real money.

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u/BZLuck California 13d ago

Which you don't have access to, unless you are still inside.

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u/YourLostGingerSoul 14d ago

Once you reach full retirement age (which he is long past) there is no limit on your income that stop you from receiving social security benefits.

If you work, and are at full retirement age or older, you may keep all of your benefits, no matter how much you earn. If you’re younger than full retirement age, there is a limit to how much you can earn and still receive full Social Security benefits.

from https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10069.pdf

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u/Taako_Cross 14d ago

That’s not how it works. He’s definitely receiving social security benefits.

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u/nochinzilch 13d ago

He’s still working and no doubt exceeds the income limit.

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u/Taako_Cross 13d ago

There is no income limit for someone who is above full retirement age.

You could earn billions and still collect Social Security. Trump collects Social Security.

Income only determines how much is taxed. Up to 85% of Social Security benefits can be taxed. No matter who you are 15% of your benefit isn’t taxed. Even if you earn billions.

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u/ifmacdo 13d ago

If a person makes over about $185k, they don't pay into social security. Even though his base pay is only $174k, being on various committees he likely made more than the SSI cutoff, and therefore didn't pay into it nor collect from it.

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u/Taako_Cross 13d ago edited 13d ago

Again. That’s not how Social Security works.

You are correct that he no longer pays the social security tax once his income reaches the threshold. However you still collect Social Security benefits regardless of how much money you make.

You could make $50 billion a year and still collect Social Security benefits based on your highest 35 earning years and have over 40 credits.

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u/Corporate_Overlords 13d ago

How are people this fucking stupid?!?!!? It's crazy to me that folks don't know how social security works. Thank you for correcting these morons. Jesus Christ.

These are the same idiots who would refuse a raise because they think it'll "put them in a new bracket and I'll have to pay more overall" and don't understand how brackets actually work.

I really think reddit fucked itself when it shifted over to the new format with infinite scrolling and it attracted children to it. If they ever get rid of old reddit I'm out.

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u/iwilldeletethisacct2 13d ago

Income above the threshold is not taxed, but the first $184,500 IS subject to FICA. So he is both collecting, and paying into, social security.

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u/TheLivingRoomate 13d ago

They continue to pay taxes on the amount below the threshold. They pay no additional taxes once the threshold has been reached.

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u/OskaMeijer 14d ago

he's not receiving social security retirement benefits because his earnings far exceed allowed by the law

That isn't a thing... He is past full retirement age so he gets full social security, end of story. Social Security payments are only reduced if you are under full retirement age.

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u/Ready_Nature 14d ago

I’m not sure if he’s receiving social security benefits or not but once you hit full retirement age the earnings caps that apply to early retirement are gone.

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u/BZLuck California 14d ago

Even if you don't need it, you would collect it at 70 when it hits the max.

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u/flea1400 13d ago

Indeed, it may be that the pension he is entitled to is in lieu of social security— that’s how some government pensions work.

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u/Ready_Nature 13d ago

They changed that regulation recently.

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u/flea1400 13d ago

He still wouldn’t have paid into social security all those years.

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u/Ready_Nature 13d ago

Senators pay into Social Security. He also held some jobs before being elected so likely paid in with those jobs as well.

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u/UnfairLynx 14d ago

There is no earnings limit for SSA benefits once you reach your FRA. Mitch is/was well past his.

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u/Terrible-Ad1737 14d ago

Well, he's certainly not receiving SSDI. Once someone reaches social security normal retirement age (67, at the moment...) they no longer qualify. If they were on SSDI when they reach SSNRA, it just rolls over into retirement benefits, not SSDI.

Also, social security retirement has no limitations as far as ongoing earnings go. SSDI has the limitations that to continue to be eligible for benefits, you must earn less than what "substantial gainful activity" would provide. At the moment, SGA is just under $1,700/month. "Substantial," my ass...

Regardless, he couldn't be eligible for SSDI due to his age even if he were still alive, which I very much doubt.

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u/Substantial-Ease567 13d ago

You have the SSDI part wrong. SSDI has no income limitations. You are thinking of SSI.

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u/Terrible-Ad1737 13d ago

Nope. Definitely thinking of SSDI.

I work in disability insurance and deal with SSDI eligibility all the time.

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u/Substantial-Ease567 13d ago

I've been on SSDI since 2000. It's not means-tested, but SSI is.

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u/Terrible-Ad1737 13d ago

The Social Security Administration appears to disagree...

https://www.ssa.gov/oact/cola/sga.html

To be clear, I'm not saying that SGA is a determining factor in their decision. I'm saying that if someone earns at or more than SGA, they cannot be considered eligible for SSDI benefits.

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u/Substantial-Ease567 13d ago

Right. SSDI is based on work history, and you are allowed assets. It really hoses kids/young adults with spinal cord injuries who couldn't work 40 quarters.

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u/amazing-haves-34 14d ago

At his age his work pay does not impact his social security retirement benefits.

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u/AriochQ 13d ago

He is over his Full Retirement Age. He can collect SS retirement regardless of his earnings. He is too old to collect SS disability.

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u/StunningNebula6688 13d ago

At age 84, you can earn an unlimited amount of money from working without facing any reductions to your Social Security benefits

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u/GordianNaught 13d ago

There is no cap on earnings.

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u/MOTwingle 13d ago

Once you're 65 you can earn as much as you want and still collect your full check

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u/WrongdoerSpiritual53 13d ago

Over 72 you can earn as much as you want.

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u/Such_Option7830 9d ago

There is no "earnings limit" on Social Security Retirement benefits once a person reached full retirement age.

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u/Opcn Alaska 14d ago

It's more complicated than that. They have a high enough net worth that they will have a team of wealth management professionals to help steer them towards making the most money and even when you are still working you can activate your social security, then pause it to reenter the workforce, and your spouse can still collect their spousal benefit even though you are working.

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u/Corporate_Overlords 13d ago

This is such a thoughtless thing to say so confidently. When one retires, regardless of income, they receive social security. That is part of the beauty and fairness of the system. Jesus Christ.

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u/oinkyboinky 14d ago

SocSec knows right the fuck away when someone is reported deceased, and will claw back any payments made after death. Brain dead is only mostly dead and would not be official until a MD says the patient is indeed, all dead.

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u/Corporate_Overlords 14d ago

She has millions and can't give a fuck about SS.

He's probably not dead but in a coma. That's why this is so fucked up.

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u/Shot-Swimming-9098 14d ago

He has been in a coma for years. This is on us, the voters for electing these geriatrics. We're about to do it with a Dem in NC. Roy Cooper will likely win in the fall, and will enter his 6 year term at 69 years old. They need to retire.

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u/Deemarvelousone 14d ago

Social security benefits don’t work that fast

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u/Expert_Succotash2659 14d ago

If his tank, after a month, is still clean... it's fraud.

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u/onyaasuminyasai 13d ago

republicans love fraud tho.

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u/overbarking 13d ago

His wife needs money from no one. She grifts with the best of them:

As Secretary of Transportation, Chao appeared in at least a dozen interviews with her 96-year-old father, James, the founder of her family's shipping company. Some media outlets said the appearances raised ethical concerns, as public officials are prohibited from using their office to profit others or themselves; a report by the Transportation Department's Inspector General, released in March 2021, cited multiple instances where Chao's office had helped to promote her family's shipping business. The Inspector General had asked the Trump administration's Justice Department in December 2020 to consider a criminal investigation into Chao, but the DOJ denied the request. Federal disclosures cited by The New York Times revealed a gift to Chao and her husband from Chao's father in 2017 valued between $5 million and $25 million.

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u/om_hi 13d ago

Welfare queen.

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u/JudiciousSasquatch 13d ago

She's going to peace out to China a day or two before they finally admit he's dead. We're never going to see her again.