President Donald Trump agitated Friday for help with coronavirus, after Congress left the city after more than two weeks of flair in efforts to boost the U.S. economy and health care system.
Trump, who did not personally attend talks on pandemic relief this month, pushed for direct payments to Americans, financing for small business loans, payments for state and local government relief and rental assistance. The policy that Trump supported in a series of tweets and in a later news conference would require congressional approval. The plans have appeared in one form or another in the aid packages that legislators have been proposing since May.
The president’s remarks underscore the pressure he faces to help Americans in a year in which his inability to contain the virus has hampered his prospects for re-election. Trump tried to get more involved in the effort Friday, a week after talks between his administration and Democratic leaders collapsed.
As the downturn in Washington looms, Trump took executive action to extend temporary additional unemployment benefits, provide protection against eviction, maintain existing student loan support, and create a tax-free holiday. The orders are limited in scope. Some may not be constitutional because Congress controls federal spending.
Both chambers of Congress have gone to their August recessions and have no plans to return until September unless they strike a coronavirus relief deal. The lack of a deal puts millions of Americans in financial jeopardy because a $ 600 a week federal unemployment benefit, a moratorium on evictions and the window to apply for Paycheck Protection Program loans for small businesses have all expired. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has warned that a lack of fiscal stimulus could jeopardize the US economic recovery.
In his tweets Friday, Trump claimed he was “ready” to take action on incentive controls, state and municipal aid and small business loans. But on every issue, he doubts, “DEMOCRATS ARE IT UP!”
Speaking later with reporters, he stated that he did not intend to take unilateral action on those issues, but instead “waited for the Democrats to approve the policy”.
The impasse in Washington on aid is more complicated than Trump pictured Friday.
Democrats announced in May a $ 3 trillion coronavirus relief package considering their opening bid for a fifth aid. It included a second round of direct payments of up to $ 1,200 to individuals, with a maximum of $ 6,000 per household.
It also had more than $ 900 billion in aid to shrinking state and local governments. Officials have wondered if they should trim essential services because they lose revenue and spend more during the pandemic. The bipartisan National Governors Association has asked Congress for at least $ 500 billion in relief.
At the time, Republicans called for more help and said they wanted to see how effective a previous $ 2 trillion bailout package was. The House of Representatives GOP then published its coronavirus bill in late July, a counter-offer to Democrats, because the extra unemployment benefits and the eviction moratorium expired. It started the talks about another relief package, which has not made much progress since.
US President Donald Trump speaks at a news conference in the White House briefing on August 14, 2020 in Washington, DC.
Alex Wong | Getty Images
The GOP bill did not include any additional money for state and local government assistance. It would also send direct payments of up to $ 1,200 to Americans, with $ 500 for each dependent of each age.
The proposal had $ 100 billion in new funding for second Paycheck Protection Program loans to particularly hard-hitting small businesses.
Trump has been fighting Democratic proposals to put $ 25 billion into the U.S. Postal Service and send $ 3.6 billion to states to promote election safety and vote by mail. He has opposed state efforts to promote casting votes by mail to make voting safer during the pandemic.
In the days that followed, Democrats and Republicans came nowhere near a relief agreement. Both sides have accused the other of being indecent in the conversations. Democrats have said they will not return to the table until Republicans offer to double the cost of their roughly $ 1 trillion aid plan.
Even Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said negotiators reached a framework agreement on both direct payments and aid to small businesses, two of the policies Trump brought on Friday.
The size of the weekly unemployment insurance payments and state and local aid are one of the biggest sticking points in the discussions. The White House has provided $ 150 billion for state and municipal relief.
Trump’s remarks about state and local aid, in which he called for “saving jobs” for police, first responders and teachers, are a far cry from his earlier comments on the issue. He described the proposed aid as “bailouts” for states that are democratic.
At his news conference Friday, Trump mumbled his earlier call to protect jobs and state and local government. Asked why he would not go into the room with Democrats and even make a deal, the self-described master negotiator responded, “Because they want $ 1 trillion going to their friends who are doing a bad job.” certain cities and states. “
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Described the $ 1 trillion request this week as a “slush fund.”
In his tweets Friday, Trump lashed out at the proposed direct payments. He said he focused Mnuchin on preparing to send money to “all Americans.”
Negotiators appear to be settling on almost the same terms for direct payments they made for the first round in March. People who made more than $ 75,000 received payments of less than $ 1,200, and people who made more than $ 99,000 did not qualify for checks.
Trump also claimed that he was’ ready to send payments for rent. The House’s bill included $ 100 billion in rent and mortgage assistance, while the House’s GOP bill did not.
It is unclear if the White House has since offered to raise funding for housing assistance.
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