Speaking on the floor, McConnell mocked the demands of Democratic leaders for Republicans to raise the price ceiling of their negotiations to $ 2 trillion from $ 1 trillion.
“The Speaker’s last spin is that it’s some heroic sacrifice to lower their demand from a composite $ 3.5 trillion marker that would never become law to an equivalent composite $ 2.5 trillion marker,” McConnell said , referring to a mammoth Democratic package that passed the House in May. ‘That has not been negotiated. That’s throwing spaghetti on the wall to see what’s sticking to it. ‘
The vitriol between Republicans and Democrats was on full display when the two party leaders acted insults, even as they acknowledged that the dire economic and health crises were plaguing the nation.
Congress has been under intense pressure to deliver a deal, but has already been exposed beyond deadlines for key programs such as the $ 600 federal benefit for non-weekly Americans and the small business subsidy known as the Paycheck Protection Program. Federal protections for tenants who have eviction have also expired.
The impasse over those programs – and more – led President Donald Trump over the weekend to issue executive actions in an attempt to overthrow Congress. The executive actions seek to provide workers with additional unemployment benefits, delay payment delays, extend the moratorium on most federal student loan payments until the end of the year, and direct agencies to control how they can prevent eviction.
But Trump’s political movement, in the face of growing backlash over his response to the virus, is likely to have a much different policy reality. Democrats have called the move blatantly unconstitutional, and it is unclear what effect the orders will have without the support of Congress.
The next tough deadline in Washington is several weeks away – the September 30 deadline for funding, and lawmakers are already speculating that the coronavirus negotiations could be dragged into that battle.
That would mean that negotiations that began in late July to late July to late September could possibly hang in the balance with the U.S. economy. And the pressure will only grow as millions of children begin the school year – whether in person, remotely as a hybrid – with many school districts increasingly desperate for help.
Pelosi has said the next package cannot wait another six weeks, and she does not want to tie the $ 1 trillion-plus relief talks to an already controversial government funding battle.
“We can not wait until September 30,” Pelosi told reporters Thursday. “Because people will die.”
It is unclear whether an impending government shutdown is enough to break the impasse, with Republicans and Democrats each holding their own corners and Congress already proving it is ready to close federal agencies over a longer political battle .
Instead, many Republicans and Democrats believe that the sheer power of the virus itself – which has now killed more than 160,000 Americans and destroyed the American economy – is forcing the hand of its party leaders.
The U.S. economy has also shown little sign of improvement despite lifting lockdowns over the country’s major swaths: The Labor Department reported Thursday that 963,000 people filed for unemployment benefits last week, the first time weekly claims have fallen below 1 million since March , although it is still at historical levels. The unemployment rate in July was 10.2 percent.
The only thing that both parties can agree on, it seems, is that there is no agreement.
“Treasury Secretary Mnuchin is working on it, but so far it has been stagnant,” White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow told CNBC on Thursday. “No question.”
Max Cohen contributed to this report.
