On Tuesday evening, President Trump indicated (via Twitter) that he had pulled the plug on negotiations to produce a COVID-19 relief bill for the country.
As noted in the Richmond Register, Trump broke off talks after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell warned earlier Tuesday that the economic recovery remains fragile seven months into coronavirus pandemic without further economic stimulus.
Stocks dropped suddenly on Wall Street after Trump ordered a stop to negotiations.
Reactions to the President’s decision and analysis of its impacts
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi issued this statement in response:
Rep. John Yarmuth also weighed in:
President Trump and Mitch McConnell have now officially killed negotiations on a deal to provide relief for the American people.
No $1200 checks.
No $600 unemployment benefit.
No funding for city & state governments to save jobs.
No relief to small businesses.
No leadership. https://t.co/O365S5nilq
— John Yarmuth 🥃 (@JohnYarmuth) October 6, 2020
Amy McGrath as well:
Amy McGrath on Trump saying Congress should wait to pass covid relief:
“In the middle of national crisis, maybe we should have our government focused on the national crisis… it’s an absolute abdication of responsibility that [McConnell] would basically just quit.”
— Daniel Desrochers (@drdesrochers) October 6, 2020
Others pointed out more dire outcomes of the decision:
— No rental relief money
— No more funding for testing and tracing
— No Medicaid or COBRA money or newly uninsured
— No $100B to help schools reopen safely
— Jeff Stein (@jstein_star) October 6, 2020
And Josh Marshall had an interesting take:
Decent chance McConnell suckered Trump into pulling the plug on stimulus. Party is in bust out mode. McC likely sees that Trump is finished, probably senate majority too. Get the Court seat and leave the economy as wrecked as possible to ensure a Biden admin is stillborn.
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) October 7, 2020
To cap off this story, here is a later tweet from Trump:
The House & Senate should IMMEDIATELY Approve 25 Billion Dollars for Airline Payroll Support, & 135 Billion Dollars for Paycheck Protection Program for Small Business. Both of these will be fully paid for with unused funds from the Cares Act. Have this money. I will sign now!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 7, 2020
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