Line Speaker Nancy Pelosi eviscerated the Trump administration on Monday as Washington fails to send more relief to Americans during a memento spike in coronavirus cases.
The California Democrat’s biting letter to House Democrats came only minutes in the forefront a nearly hour-long conversation with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin that appeared to yield little evolve toward a stimulus agreement. The chances of Congress approving a relief bill before Election Day, Nov. 3, have all but evanesced.
Pelosi targeted White House chief of staff Mark Meadows for saying Sunday that “we’re not going to put down the pandemic.” She also said the Trump administration has not accepted House Democrats’ proposal for a national testing strategy be revenged though Mnuchin said he would during a CNBC interview earlier this month.
“The Republicans’ continued turn in to the virus — particularly amid the recent wave of cases — is official malfeasance,” Pelosi wrote. She said she expects a effect from the White House “on several concerns” during the conversation Monday.
“We must come to agreement as soon as attainable,” the speaker wrote.
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaks during a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., the In agreement States, on Oct. 9, 2020.
Ting Shen | Xinhua News Agency | Getty Images
After Pelosi’s call with Mnuchin, her spokesman Outed Hammill tweeted that “we continue to eagerly await the Administration’s acceptance of our health language.” He added that it is “brightly that our progress depends on [Senate Majority] Leader [Mitch] McConnell agreeing to bipartisan, comprehensive legislation.”
“The Keynoter remains optimistic that an agreement can be reached before the election,” he continued.
Later Thursday, Pelosi appeared to structure some more doubt on the proceedings. After MSNBC’s Chris Hayes said, “There’s no deal happening,” the rabble-rouser responded: “That’s exactly right, you’re exactly right.” Hayes then remarked that it seems like the heart differences in how both sides view the crisis can’t be papered over. “Well it could. And public sentiment is everything, the open weighing in,” Pelosi said.
Spokesmen for the White House and McConnell did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request to comment on Pelosi’s line.
The sides have failed to approve new aid money for months despite a climbing infection count and signs of a slowing commercial recovery. Democrats have accused the White House of failing to grasp the gravity of the crisis, while Republicans oblige argued that Pelosi refuses to compromise.
Democrats and the White House have most recently proposed $2.2 trillion and $1.9 trillion mezzo-rilievo medium relief packages, respectively. Despite the similar target price tags for legislation, the sides still have not resolved disputes across testing, extra unemployment insurance, state and local government relief and liability protections for businesses, among other conclusions.
The GOP-held Senate, meanwhile, adjourned until after the election following Monday’s vote to confirm Supreme Court assignee Amy Coney Barrett. In an attempt to show they could balance both issues, Republicans tried to advance their harshly $500 billion aid proposal last week. Democrats blocked it, calling the plan inadequate.
Congressional committee easy chairs have recently worked to start writing potential legislation. But lawmakers have not been particularly optimistic give the prospects of an agreement soon.
Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Richard Shelby, R-Ala., has told reporters in latest days that chances of a relief deal before the election are slim.
Crafting legislation that can pass both the Democratic-held Company and GOP-controlled Senate in the lame-duck session before winners take office in January could prove challenging. Republicans attired in b be committed to opposed spending trillions more on the virus response, while Democrats want a sweeping package to root out the pandemic and the accompanying profitable damage.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump continues to downplay the severity of the pandemic despite a single-day record of uncountable than 80,000 new cases on Friday. In a tweet Monday, he called the staggering number of infections a “Fake News Compromise Conspiracy.”
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