Trump, McConnell hash out virus aid plan
Next stimulus package expected to pass soon
WASHINGTON — President Trump insisted “good things” were underway on the next COVID-19 aid package Monday as he met with Republican congressional leaders.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has been prepared to roll out the $1 trillion package in a matter of days. But the administration criticized more virus testing money and interjected other priorities that could complicate quick passage.
Trump acknowledged the “big flare up” of rising caseloads and deaths. “Unfortunately, this is something that’s very tough,” he said.
Rather than easing, the pandemic’s devastating cycle is rising again.
“We have to end this virus,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Monday on MSNBC.
Pelosi said any attempt by the White House to block money for testing “goes beyond ignorance.”
The political stakes are high for both parties before the November election, and even more so for the nation, which now has registered more coronavirus infections and a higher death count, of 140,500, than any other country.
McConnell and House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy huddled with Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and acting chief of staff Mark Meadows.
Mnuchin vowed passage by month’s end and said he expected the fresh $1 trillion jolt of aid would have a “big impact” on the struggling economy.
“We can’t pass the bill in the Senate without the Democrats and we’re going to talk to them as well,” McConnell agreed.
The package from McConnell is expected to include $75 billion to help schools reopen, reduced unemployment benefits and a fresh round of direct $1,200 cash payments to Americans, and a sweeping five-year liability shield against coronavirus lawsuits.
Pelosi’s bill, approved by the House in May, includes $75 billion for testing and tracing, funnels $100 billion to schools to safely reopen and calls for $1 trillion to be sent to cash-strapped states to pay essential workers and prevent layoffs. The measure would give cash stipends to Americans, and bolster rental and mortgage and other safety net protections.
“If we don’t invest the money now, it will be much worse,” Pelosi said.