Yellen spars with GOP senator on IMF help for poor countries

Senator John Kennedy said the extra cash influx by the International Monetary Fund would direct money from US taxpayers to China, Russia and Venezuela.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is facing fierce Republican opposition for supporting a major expansion in funding for the International Monetary Fund’s efforts to help poor nations cope with the global pandemic. In a testy exchange on Wednesday during a Senate Banking Committee hearing, GOP Senator John Kennedy said the extra cash influx would direct money from U.S. taxpayers to American adversaries like China, Russia and Venezuela. “You say you want to help poor countries, but you and I both know that only about 10% of that is going to go to poor countries,” with much of the money being put in the hands of countries the U.S. has deemed bad actors, Kennedy said — without specifying the source of his estimate.