‘Pointless’ aid effort in Washington

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Wednesday accused Republicans of all but abandoning negotiations for a new coronavirus stimulus package.

Nearly a week after the talks broke down, Pelosi (D-Calif.) called it “pointless” to continue the on-and-off discussions with Trump lieutenants Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and chief of staff Mark Meadows.

“We’re miles apart,” Pelosi said on MSNBC.

“[Some of ] the Republicans say they’re glad there’s no agreement because they don’t want to spend one more penny on this,” Pelosi added, referring to a group of up to 25 GOP hard-liners in the Senate.

The White House is taking a hard line since Trump over the weekend enacted a controversial set of executive orders that extend a cut-price version of the federal emergency unemployment aid and call for a holiday on the payroll taxes that pay for Social Security and Medicare.

“Some of them are on TV more than they’re in the negotiating room or in the hearing room,” said White House counselor Kellyanne Conway.

Mnuchin called Pelosi on Tuesday but reiterated that the administration has no plans to budge on the scope or cost of the package anytime soon.

That sparked a new salvo from Pelosi and Senate Minoity Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.)

“It is clear that the administration still does not grasp the magnitude of the problems that American families are facing,” the Democratic leaders said in a joint statement.

Trump believes the ball is now in Democrats’ court to make concessions on their $3.4 trillion stimulus plan they passed in May. His negotiators rejected out of hand Democratic proposals to split the difference with a $1 trillion White House plan.

Pelosi and Schumer feel they have the upper hand since a river of stimulus cash may be Trump’s best hope to win reelection in November.

Pointedly, neither Trump nor Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) have joined the talks in person, a sign that no deal is in sight.