Kudlow raises funds for ‘voting rights’ as ‘liberal, left-wing wish lists’

White House economic adviser Larry KudlowLarry KudlowMORE on Thursday, Democrats dismissed pressure for funds that support voting amid the coronavirus pandemic as “liberal, leftist, wishlists,” and said that President TrumpDonald John TrumpNew Bob Woodward book will contain details of 25 personal letters between Trump and Kim Jong Un On The Money: Pelosi, Mnuchin talk, but make no progress on ending stalemate | Trump seizes ‘third track’ of policy with payroll tax break | Trump uses racist tropes to repeat honest housing to ‘suburban housewife’. Biden commemorates anniversary of Charlottesville’s ‘Unite the Right’ rally: ‘We are in a battle for the soul of our nation’ MORE would not accept that kind of deal.

“They’re asking for too much money,” Kudlow said on CNBC’s Squawk on the Street as he discussed the stalemate between Democrats and Republicans over a fifth coronavirus relief package.

“So much of the Democratic question is really liberal wish lists,” he added. “You know voting rights, support for aliens and so on. That’s not our game and the president can not accept that kind of deal.”

Kudlow’s remarks came after a disagreement between Democratic leaders and the Trump administration over coronavirus legislation and when the president stepped up his attacks against expanding the vote for mail-ins.

At the center of debate between the White House and Democrats is the amount of money that will be used to fund the Fifth Incentive Act. House Democrats passed $ 3 trillion in May, while the GOP bill unveiled in the House of Representatives in July at around $ 1 trillion.

In an interview with Fox Business on Thursday, Trump suggested he was not ready to reach an agreement with Democrats that included funding for the Postal Service because it would prevent universal post-election voting in an election year.

“They want $ 3.5 billion for the post-vote. They want $ 25 billion for the post office. Now, they need that money to run the post office so it can take all those millions and millions of votes,” he said. said Trump, who has regularly made unsubstantiated claims against voting via mail-in, claims that the practice leads to voter fraud.

The House Democrats’ bill in May would direct $ 25 billion over three years to the Postal Service. The bill also included an additional $ 3.6 billion that was intended to address new challenges posed by holding elections during a health crisis, including the expansion of emails.

Trump and Kudlow’s new remarks were met with swift criticism from Democratic lawmakers, including the presidential campaign of presumptive Democratic presidential nominees Joe BidenJoe BidenRon Johnson signals some GOP senators worried about his probes during the Obama era On The Money: Pelosi, Mnuchin talk, but make no progress in ending stalmate | Trump seizes ‘third track’ of policy with payroll tax break | Trump uses racist tropes to repeat honest housing to ‘suburban housewife’. Biden commemorates anniversary of Charlottesville’s ‘Unite the Right’ rally: ‘We are in a battle for the soul of our nation’ MORE.

“We knew it @GOP against voting rights, but this is unmistakable, “Rep. Mark PocanMark William PocanProgressive co-chair of Caucus: Reporting change of oversight in intelligence office ‘seems a bit … fascist’ House approves changes to purge federal forces in cities House Democrats backtrack, will pull Homeland Security bill MORE (D-Wis.) said in a tweet referring to Kudlow’s remarks.

The U.S. Postal Service, which has faced financial challenges for years, has become the source of major scrutiny in the run-up to the November election. Much of the attention went to the appointment of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, who took office in June.

DeJoy, a megadonor for Trump’s campaign, has introduced a number of austerity measures that some critics say could not leave the Postal Service prepared for an increase in the vote for mail-in. Democrats have been pushing for a freeze on changes to the service amid the pandemic.