Trump ends talks on relief from Covid budget stimulus

US President Donald Trump has said he is ending negotiations on a Covid-19 relief bill and will only resume talks after the elections.

He predicted that he would win next month’s election and then pass a bill. US stocks fell after the announcement.

Budget talks between Democratic President Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin began in July.

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said Trump had “turned his back” on the American people.

“Make no mistake: if you’re out of work, if your business is closed, if your child’s school is closed, if you’re seeing layoffs in your community, Donald Trump decided today that none of that, none of that, he cares about him.” Biden said in a statement Tuesday.

The Republican President, who is currently being treated for Covid-19, responded: “Crazy Nancy Pelosi and the radical left-wing Democrats were playing ‘games’ with desperately needed Worker Stimulus Payments.

“They just wanted to take over the failed, high-crime Democrats, cities and states. They were never in this to help workers, and they never will be!”

He said he had instructed Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to focus his efforts on confirming his Supreme Court candidate, Amy Coney Barrett.

McConnell later told reporters that he supported the president’s move because he believed a deal with Democrats seemed too difficult. “We need to focus on the achievable,” he said.

Lawmakers from both parties had hoped another round of Covid-19 aid spending would be approved before the Nov. 3 election, but Trump’s tweet appears to have abruptly suspended that prospect.

It comes as coronavirus cases rise in various parts of the country, the outbreak spreads among White House staff and Republican senators, and hits the top brass of the Pentagon.

• The millions of Americans ‘hanging by a thread’
• Will the coronavirus change the stigma of unemployment in the United States?

A very risky political move

Donald Trump’s decision to end the Covid-19 aid negotiations may be a courageous position in principle, ultimately siding with conservatives who are against more massive deficit-funded spending, but also it is a very risky political measure.

A multi-trillion dollar deal would have injected stimulus into the economy at a time when unemployment and business growth prospects are trending downward. An increase in jobs and spending, or even the prospect of one, would have helped the president argue that he, and not Joe Biden, would be the best manager of the American economy for the next four years.

Instead, the stock market fell precipitously with the president’s announcement, and the massive permanent layoffs that have already begun in the travel and entertainment industries will continue apace.

This isn’t good news for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, either, as her hard-line negotiating strategy ended with nothing to show for it. The more moderate Democrats, who were already expressing their frustration at the lack of a deal, will only sharpen their criticism of the Democratic leadership.

Whoever wins the November elections will soon savor their victories before having to face what will surely be a great and growing economic crisis.

Whose fault is it?

In an all-well-known story of the Washington stalemate, both Republicans and Democrats refused to commit enough to meet in the middle.

The White House said it would back a $ 1.6 trillion Covid-19 relief bill. But Mrs. Pelosi was expecting a more generous package.

House Democrats passed a $ 2.2 trillion stimulus bill last week, though that measure had no chance of advancing in the Republican-controlled Senate.

The Senate leader had indicated that he would not support any legislation with a price tag of more than $ 2 trillion.

Trump reluctantly offered $ 250 billion in funding to state and local governments. Mrs. Pelosi was holding more than $ 400 billion.

Republicans accused her of simply seeking a bailout for Democratic-controlled states facing budget problems stemming from before the pandemic.

The White House said last week that it was in favor of a pandemic unemployment benefit of $ 400 per week, but the Democrats wanted $ 600.

What is the economic situation in the United States?

Analysts have warned that the economic recovery risks stalling without further help. Although the United States has recovered about half of the jobs lost in March and April, more than 10 million people remain unemployed.

In a speech Tuesday, the head of the US central bank, Jerome Powell, warned of the “tragic” consequences if policy makers did too little and the pace of progress slowed further.

“The expansion is still far from complete,” he said. “Even if the political actions eventually turn out to be greater than necessary, they will not be wasted.”

Trump’s unexpected announcement comes as many of the individual benefits previously approved by Congress have already been used up.

The new Congress will not meet again until January, after the November elections.

What was Pelosi’s response?

Pelosi accused Trump of “putting himself first at the expense of the country.”

“He shows his contempt for science, his disdain for our heroes … and he refuses to put money in the pockets of workers, unless his name is printed on the check,” he added.

• Nancy Pelosi breaks the rules with a visit to the hair salon

“Clearly, the White House is in complete chaos,” he said, calling on Trump officials to heed Powell’s advice.