Walz: Lack of coronavirus relief from Congress 'unconscionable'

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Gov. Tim Walz gave impassioned remarks Thursday pleading with Minnesotans to listen to doctors' recommendations and chastising Congress for leaving for holiday break before passing a coronavirus aid package.

“It’s simply unconscionable and immoral right now that the Senate and Congress went home on a vacation when they could have moved this piece of legislation,” Walz told reporters Thursday afternoon.

It’s unconscionable: Gov. Walz calls out federal lawmakers for not passing COVID-19 relief before break

Governor Walz says he's not happy federal lawmakers have gone on holiday break without a deal to help people struggling due to COVID-19.

He implored legislators to pass an aid package “quickly” even if it’s not a “perfect package or a big one.”

Just before those comments, Walz asked Minnesotans to rise above politics in an effort to curb the virus. He lamented that doctors are politicized when they appear with him at events like the one he held Thursday because their words become “politically charged” and “very divisive.”

“They are not here to support my position. I’m here to support theirs,” Walz said.

He went on to ask Minnesotans to listen to their advice, saying, “We are not helpless here. This is not inevitable.”

Walz admitted that restrictions like those that go into effect Saturday morning can be “damaging,” but he said the state has to “triage the situation that’s upon us now.”