President Donald Trump put an end to months of negotiations over a COVID-19 stimulus package Tuesday, rejecting the Democrats’ latest offer and saying he wanted to postpone negotiations until after the November 3 election.
In a Tuesday afternoon tweet, Trump said Democrats were “not negotiating in good faith” and was rejecting their offer. He told Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to “focus full time” on confirming his Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett instead.
“I have instructed my representatives to stop negotiating until after the election when, immediately after I win, we will pass a major Stimulus Bill that focuses on hardworking Americans and Small Business,” Trump tweeted.
The president’s rejection and insistence on restarting negotiations means both parties head into a crucial election without more relief for Americans struggling as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, which has led to unprecedented levels of unemployment and caused businesses to suffer as states impose social distancing measures.
Trump’s announcement comes as many of the benefits previously approved by Congress have already run out. The $600 federal boost to unemployment benefits ran out in July, a loan forgiveness program for small businesses also expired, and airlines have warned of mass layoffs and furloughs after their billions of dollars in federal payroll assistance expired.
The president, who had announced a positive COVID-19 test result last Friday, returned to the White House Monday evening after spending three days at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center
After negotiations fell apart in August, President Donald Trump issued several executive orders aimed at providing relief. Negotiations stalemated as both sides remained unable to agree on issues like the amount of the federal boost to unemployment insurance and state and local funding. Republicans said the unemployment benefit could work as a disincentive to working if it were too much money.
Both sides also had deadlocked over the amount of aid to give to state and local governments as well. Republicans were wary of adding to the deficit and say the money would bail out mismanaged local governments.
Trump’s tweet seemed to indicate the state and local funding provisions of a stimulus deal remained a major sticking point, writing that Democrats wanted money to “bailout poorly run, high crime, Democrat States, money that is in no way related to COVID-19.”
Democrats seemed to have grown more bullish about a deal going into last weekend. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday on MSNBC she was “optimistic” about a deal, saying Trump’s positive COVID-19 diagnosis “changes the dynamic.”
She and Mnuchin talked Monday as they continued to work through remaining areas of disagreement.
Pelosi said in a letter to House Democrats Friday she and Mnuchin were working through five main areas of disagreement:
- The dollar amount of the federal boost to unemployment benefits
- Funding for school and state and local governments
- Tax credit provisions for children and families
- Testing and contact tracing funding
- Appropriations for Democratic priorities like transit
Trump, who had urged Republicans to accept more aid, tweeted in all caps Saturday, “OUR GREAT USA WANTS & NEEDS STIMULUS. WORK TOGETHER AND GET IT DONE.”
USA TODAY