In Washington DC, Congressional Republicans are having trouble coming to an agreement with the White House on a coronavirus spending bill. Most Republicans agree that a new relief bill is needed to address ongoing economic fallout from the pandemic. However, a seeming lack of agreement over proposed provisions in the bill has stalled talks on Capitol Hill.
The Trump administration began with a number of redline “must-have” aspects of any bill. This included funding tied to schools reopening, a payroll tax cut, and a cut to CDC funding for virus testing and tracing.
Congressional Republicans objected to many of these, attitudes to the situation souring in places. On Wednesday, many Congressional Republicans were publicly venting their frustrations at the bill.
Republicans in Congress are well-aware of national polling that suggests their Senate majority is under threat. Making the right moves now is key for keeping their majority, and even scoring gains in the House.
As such, tempers are running high over the proposed COVID-19 spending bill. While many, rightly, fear a bill that spends over one trillion dollars, they also know it’s important to help struggling American families.
Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury Secretary, is the White House’s chief negotiator in the matter. He has stuck to his insistence that the talks between the White House and Congressional Republicans need to be complete before the end of next week.
Then, Republicans are eager to pass new legislation before the end of July. Their reasoning? The emergency unemployment benefits end at the end of this month.
The idea that a Republican White House and Senate would be concerned over the expiration of unemployment benefits is bizarre at first. Since when does the GOP care about extending welfare? In the case of the emergency benefits, however, Republicans are sensitive to the optics of the moment. Millions of hard-working, blue-collar Americans are out of work right now.
Many of those people are currently relying on the extra $600 per week that is guaranteed by the government spending bill from March. Should those funds suddenly dry up, Republicans run the risk of alienating working-class voters. As such, Mnuchin is pushing for the talks to resolve quickly.
After all, November will offer a huge opportunity for the GOP. Trump could hold the White House, and if Senate Republicans retain their majority, there are ample opportunities to pursue conservative policies once the pandemic is in the rearview.
