President Donald Trump effectively killed any chance at a new coronavirus relief package ahead of the presidential election when he tweeted Tuesday that he won’t agree to a deal until “after I win.”
“Nancy Pelosi is asking for $2.4 Trillion Dollars to bailout poorly run, high crime, Democrat States, money that is in no way related to COVID-19,” Trump said of the aide package passed by House Democrats last week, which is actually for $2.2 trillion. “We made a very generous offer of $1.6 Trillion Dollars and, as usual, she is not negotiating in good faith. I am rejecting their request, and looking to the future of our Country.”
“I have instructed my representatives to stop negotiating until after the election when, immediately after I win, we will pass a major Stimulus Bill that focuses on hardworking Americans and Small Business,” he continued. “I have asked Mitch McConnell not to delay, but to instead focus full time on approving my outstanding nominee to the United States Supreme Court, Amy Coney Barrett.”
Trump then praised the state of the economy, pointing to the stock market, unemployment, and recent job gains. In the minutes after his tweet, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged more than 400 points.
Trump slammed the door on a pre-election deal hours after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said more stimulus to the economy is necessary, saying the recovery has “a long way to go.”
Pointing to promising recent economic developments, Powell said easing up on added relief could “lead to a weak recovery, creating unnecessary hardship for households and businesses.”
“By contrast, the risks of overdoing it seem, for now, to be smaller,” Powell told the National Association for Business Economics. “Even if policy actions ultimately prove to be greater than needed, they will not go to waste. The recovery will be stronger and move faster if monetary policy and fiscal policy continue to work side by side to provide support to the economy until it is clearly out of the woods.”
In a statement, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Powell’s “warning” showed “robust action is immediately needed to avert economic catastrophe from the devastation of the coronavirus pandemic.”
“More than 210,000 Americans have died, over 7.5 million have been infected and countless millions have lost jobs and financial security,” Pelosi said. “It is long overdue for Republicans to join us in passing a bill that meets the needs of the American people by protecting our heroes, crushing the virus and putting money in the pockets of workers.”
Congressional negotiators have been deadlocked for months on a new stimulus package after passing initial relief earlier in the year. Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had recently resumed talks, though progress had been stalled.
While at Walter Reed Medical Center undergoing treatment for his Covid-19 infection, Trump tweeted Saturday: “OUR GREAT USA WANTS & NEEDS STIMULUS.”
“WORK TOGETHER AND GET IT DONE. Thank you!”
This content was originally published here.