Critics: McConnell and Chao using a power (couple) play to help his reelection

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell touts the infrastructure spending he helps bring to Kentucky, but questions are being raised about how the Republican power broker is making that happen.

Politico spotlighted this week how the Bluegrass State is benefiting from a special arrangement set up by Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, who is McConnell's wife, to the tune of about $78 million.

Chao has appointed her chief of staff, Owensboro native Todd Inman, as a "special liaison" who crafts grant applications that have funneled big bucks into the state ahead of McConnell's 2020 reelection.

In an email to McConnell’s office, Politico reported, Inman said any Kentucky-specific projects "should be flagged for the secretary’s attention." Among them was an Owensboro highway-improvement project that had been twice rejected.

Asked Tuesday if he received any special treatment or consideration for transportation grants because he's married to Chao, the Kentucky Republican told reporters in Washington: "You know, I was complaining to her just last night: 169 projects and Kentucky got only five. I hope we'll do a lot better next year."

Opinion:Why we should be worried McConnell is D.C.'s most powerful man, not Trump

Meanwhile, McConnell is one of the Washington power players standing in the way of a $2 trillion deal to fix U.S. roads, bridges and mass transit. The nationwide infrastructure plan is being negotiated by House Democrats and the Trump administration.

In May, the Washington Post reported that McConnell is not in favor of spending that much, according to people who have spoken to him.

"Sen. McConnell recognizes the importance of improving our nation’s transportation infrastructure and he looks forward to working with President Trump and congressional Democrats on a bipartisan and budget neutral infrastructure agreement," McConnell spokesman Robert Steurer told the Courier Journal on Tuesday.

"As Sen. McConnell said repeatedly, it’s important to note that funding for an infrastructure package will need to be bipartisan and credibly paid for," he added.

House Democrats have suggested paying for the infrastructure cost by rolling back the 2017 tax cuts passed when Republicans controlled both houses of Congress. But McConnell has said that is a "non-starter" among his caucus.

But as far as Chao making special arrangements for her husband and his home state, McConnell's office instead casts him as simply working on behalf of Kentuckians with cabinet members and agencies of the federal government.

"As majority leader and a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, he has made it a top priority to fund important new infrastructure investments in Kentucky through the annual appropriations process," Steurer said.

See also:What to know about Mitch McConnell's Senate reelection bid in Kentucky

Ethics watchdogs and critics are howling, however, about special treatment and raising concerns that Chao is using her position to funnel money to the state as a way to buttress her husband's 2020 reelection.

"One can’t help but think: would we have already broken ground on Gateway if it were located in Kentucky, not New Jersey and New York," Democratic Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey said in reaction to the Politico piece.

The Gateway Program involves the anticipated expansion and renovation of the Northeast Corridor rail line between Newark, New Jersey, and New York City. 

McConnell's spokesman took to Twitter to remind online followers about the different projects the GOP leader has boosted with federal dollars over the years.

Chief among them is an $87 million grant for the University of Kentucky to address the opioid and substance abuse crisis, Steurer said.

Others include helping secure a $14.1 million grant for Lexington's Town Branch project in the waning years of the Obama administration.

"As the only one of the four congressional leaders who isn’t from the coastal states of New York or California, I view it as my job to look out for Middle America and, of course, Kentucky in particular," McConnell has said previously. "That means I use my position as majority leader to advance Kentucky’s priorities."

Stonewalling House Democrats has been one of McConnell's main occupations since January, and the self-proclaimed "grim reaper" has halted much of their progressive agenda.

Opinion:I'm outraged by Trump, McConnell and the America we have become

At the same time, McConnell has sped up President Donald Trump's appointment list, confirming 50 judicial and executive nominees in May alone.

McConnell is gearing up for reelection next year, and it's expected that he will openly promote how peddling his personal power is a benefit for the state. That influence has accrued since being elevated to majority leader in 2015, where he has been instrumental in reshaping the federal judiciary.

Ahead of 2020, McConnell is keen on crafting a three-pronged argument that he's filling the bench with conservatives, while stiff-arming liberal legislation and bringing home the bacon to Kentucky.

Reporter Phillip M. Bailey can be reached at 502-582-4475 or pbailey@courierjournal.com. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/philb.