McConnell Advocating $500 billion After Claiming He Won’t Accept Any White House-Pelosi Deal
Mnuchin Advocating $1.8 Trillion While Meadows Admits GOP Senate Likely To Block Admin’s Proposal
Trump this AM Called For “More Than” $2.2 Trillion, Undercutting Mnuchin’s Position
“With whom is Speaker Pelosi supposed to be negotiating right now? Who is in charge on the Republican side?”
Protect Our Care’s Coronavirus War Room Director Zac Petkanas released the following statement on the latest COVID relief negotiations:
“For months, Republicans have jerked around the American people, refusing to take up the COVID relief bill passed by House Democrats last May. While they were sitting on their hands, the virus ripped through communities in a third wave, the economic situation has become even more dire, and nearly 135,000 Americans have died.
“With a deadline looming, Republicans are engaging in some strange Abbott & Costello routine instead of getting serious about a COVID relief package that helps families struggling with the health and economic consequences of Trump’s failure to control the virus. Mitch McConnell is saying one thing, White House negotiators are saying another, and Donald Trump is sounding off to FOX News with a made-up third number that doesn’t match either of them.
“Either Republicans are in such disarray that they can’t get on the same page or they’re making a deliberate choice to abandon the American people who are still struggling through the consequences of this crisis.
“Either way, it begs the question: with whom is Speaker Pelosi supposed to be negotiating right now? Who is in charge on the Republican side? The American people would like to know.”
Background on how Trump and Republicans are failing to get their house in order and provide relief for struggling American families:
- Secretary Of The Treasury Steve Mnuchin Is Negotiating For A Stimulus Three Times The Size Of Republicans’ Offer. “[House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi calls the $1.8 trillion administration offer inadequate, saying that while the overall Trump offer has gone up, the details on a virus testing plan, aid to state and local governments, and tax cuts for the working poor still aren’t to her satisfaction. At the same time, Trump’s GOP allies in the Senate are backing a virus proposal that at $650 billion or so is only about one-third the size of the measure that Pelosi and Mnuchin are negotiating. But the Senate GOP bill has failed once before, and Trump himself says it’s too puny.” [Associated Press, 10/20/20]
- Trump Is Totally Out Of Touch With His Party And Own Officials As He Claims That He Wants “To Do It Even Bigger Than The Democrats.” “In terms of a stimulus package, where negotiations are ongoing with House Democrats. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had called for more than $2 trillion in stimulus. Trump said that ‘I want to do it even bigger than the Democrats.’ … He said he would be willing to go higher than $2.2. trillion, arguing that it is better than unemployment and other costly alternatives.” [Fox News, 10/20/20]
- White House Chief Of Staff Mark Meadows Acknowledged That Senate Republicans Are Likely To Block The Administration’s Current Proposal. “The White House acknowledged Senate Republicans are more unlikely to support a relief bill the higher the price tag goes. The administration has not publicly released details of its plan or text of proposed legislation. White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, one of the lead White House negotiators, said Monday, ‘The Senate Republicans have been very vocal in terms of their lack of support of a number that isn’t even close to what the president has already supported at the $1.8 trillion range.’ Whether enough Republican senators would support a deal is ‘up to Leader (Mitch) McConnell,’ he said, referring to the Kentucky Republican and Senate majority leader.” [USA Today, 10/19/20]
- On October 15, Senate Majority Leader Expressed That He Was Not Willing To Make A Deal On A Coronavirus Relief Package. “McConnell specifically asked if there can be a compromise in the $1.8T-$2.2T range: ‘I don’t think so … That’s where the administration’s willing to go. My members think what we laid out, a half a trillion dollars, highly targeted, is the best way to go.’” [Twitter, @ericawerner, 10/15/20]
- On October 6, Trump Announced That He Was Withdrawing From Economic Relief Talks Until After The Presidential Election Only To Backtrack Hours Later And Advocate For “Some Additional Assistance.” “‘I have instructed my representatives to stop negotiating until after the election when, immediately after I win, we will pass a major Stimulus Bill,’ Mr. Trump wrote Tuesday on Twitter. Mr. Trump’s tweets appeared to end the long-running effort between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to negotiate an agreement on another trillion-dollar-plus coronavirus relief deal. But late Tuesday Mr. Trump appeared to backtrack, calling on Congress to approve some additional assistance for airlines and a small-business aid program.” [Wall Street Journal, 10/7/20]
- It Has Been 158 Days Since House Democrats Passed The HEROES Act Aimed At Providing Help To Struggling Families While Trump, Senate Republicans Have Yet To Act On A Relief Bill. “House Democrats on [May 15] passed a $3 trillion tax cut and spending bill aimed at addressing the devastating economic fallout from the coronavirus outbreak by directing huge sums of money into all corners of the economy. But the White House and Senate Republicans have decried the measure’s design and said they will cast it aside, leaving uncertain what steps policymakers might take as the economy continues to face severe strains.” [The Hill, 5/15/20]