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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
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Trump Hits Eject From Talks With House on Stimulus Funds

Announcing that he will no longer negotiate a deal with House Democrats, President Donald Trump on Tuesday killed the possibility of another Covid-19 relief measure.

WASHINGTON (CN) — Announcing that he will no longer negotiate a deal with House Democrats, President Donald Trump on Tuesday killed the possibility of another Covid-19 relief measure.

“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 wrote this afternoon. “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.”

Trump said talks would stall until after the election, “when, immediately after I win,” the administration would pass another stimulus bill that focused on small businesses and “hardworking Americans.” 

Until then, the president urged, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other Senate leadership should focus “full time” on approving Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.

“Our Economy is doing very well. The Stock Market is at record levels, JOBS and unemployment also coming back in record numbers,” Trump wrote. “We are leading the World in Economic Recovery, and THE BEST IS YET TO COME!”

Trump returned just 24 hours earlier from Walter Reed Medical Center where he was given an experimental drug cocktail, REGN-COV2, after being diagnosed with Covid-19 on Friday evening

Though used on only 275 non-hospitalized patients while it undergoes a clinical trial to prove its efficacy, the treatment alleviated symptoms of the disease within a week among test subjects, according to news release by the treatment manufacturer, Regeneron. Trump is also being treated with dexamethasone after a dip in his oxygen levels last weekend, according to a Sunday statement from White House physician Dr. Sean Conley.

Trump’s refusal to negotiate seemingly closes the possibility for additional Covid-19 relief legislation before the November election. A $3 trillion relief bill — which would have boosted food stamp and small business programs by billions of dollars and send most Americans another $1,200 check — has languished in the House since May.

Republicans pitched their own $1 trillion bill in July, setting aside $1.75 million for the construction of a new FBI headquarters and cutting unemployment benefits in half. Reducing the House’s original recommendation of spending by $195 billion, Republicans also proposed cuts to schools funding so that only schools that reopened fully would be eligible.

The House recently passed a $2.2 trillion version of the bill, which would send $436 billion to state, local and territorial governments if passed by the Senate and signed by the president. The bill is not expected to receive a vote in the Senate. 

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said in a statement Tuesday that Trump’s actions showed his true colors and proved that the White House “is in complete disarray.” Walking away from negotiations over additional relief measures showed contempt for science, disdain for American first responders, health care workers and other essential workers, she said.

“At the same time, the president is abandoning meeting the needs of our children as they adjust to learning in-person, virtual or hybrid,” she said in a statement. “Instead, Trump is wedded to his $150 billion tax cut for the wealthiest people in America from the CAREs Act, while he refuses to give real help to poor children, the unemployed and America’s hardworking families.”

Categories / Economy, Financial, Government

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