McConnell signals no GOP support for emerging COVID-19 deal

WASHINGTON >> Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is hitting the brakes on an emerging COVID-19 aid package from a bipartisan group of lawmakers, saying Republican senators won’t support $160 billion in state and local funds as part of a potential trade-off in the deal.

McConnell’s staff conveyed to top negotiators that the GOP leader sees no path to an agreement on a key aspect of the lawmakers’ existing proposal — a slimmeddown version of the liability shield for companies and organizations facing potential COVID-19 lawsuits — in exchange for $160 billion in state and local funds that Democrats want.

A senior Democrat confirmed that McConnell’s position was conveyed to negotiators and was granted anonymity to discuss the private talks. McConnell’s office did not immediately respond for a request for comment.

The hardened stance from McConnell, who does not appear to have the votes from Republicans for a farreaching compromise, creates a new stalemate over the $900-billion-plus package, despite days of toiling by a bipartisan group of lawmakers toward a deal.

It comes as President Donald Trump’s top negotiator on COVID-19 financial aid took the opposite view. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin reported headway Thursday on the package from the bipartisan senators’ group.

“I think we’re making a lot of progress,” Mnuchin said.

Deadlines, real and perceived, haven’t been sufficient to drive Washington’s factions to an agreement, despite the U. S. breaking a record-high 3,000 daily COVID fatalities, and hospitals straining at capacity from soaring caseloads nationwide.

A one- week stop- gap measure to prevent a federal shutdown appears to have sapped some urgency from the talks. The short-term government-wide funding bill, approved by the House on Wednesday, needs to clear the Senate before Friday at midnight to avert a partial closure.