'I smell a rat with orange hair' — Democrat accuses Trump of cheating blue states for coronavirus funds

Democratic Rep. Jackie Speier of California accused President Donald Trump of intentionally cheating blue states out of financial aid from the coronavirus relief bill.

Speier tweeted a link to a report that showed where more of the relief ended up.

"I'm hard pressed not to think that this is political. Blue states like California got a pathetic number of loans issued. Nebraska got nearly 75% of loans requested," Speier tweeted.

"I smell a rat with orange hair," she added.

The report from Bloomberg News showed an infographic that indicated little of the relief went to states like California or New York, which are both heavily democratic.

During the first 13 days of the federal government's small-business rescue program, the spigot was wide open in Nebraska. Firms there got enough money to cover 82% of the state's eligible payrolls. It was a different picture in New York and California, where companies did only half as well.

The report noted that the relief addressed the fewest percentage of eligible payrolls in Washington D.C. and California, while the greatest percentage of eligible payrolls were addressed in Nebraska, North Dakota, and Kansas.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom was asked about the disparity during a media briefing.

"We're trying to understand exactly why," he said.

Republicans are working to refund the rescue plan in order to help more businesses, but their efforts have been stymied by Democrats who wish to use the opportunity to push for other demands.

Here's more about the coronavirus relief bill:

Small business coronavirus relief program runs out of moneywww.youtube.com