Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters Friday that another coronavirus stimulus bill will not happen until after Election Day.
Speaking to reporters from his home in Kentucky, McConnell said “the situation’s kind of murky” while negotiators try to “elbow for political advantage” as Americans cast their ballots.
On Wednesday, President Trump told McConnell and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to stop negotiating for a new stimulus package. The stock market reacted immediately as the Dow Jones fell more than 300 points and airline companies warned that without federal help they will be forced to layoff thousands.
Hours later, Trump tried to push the government into helping by tweeting “The House & Senate should IMMEDIATELY Approve 25 Billion Dollars for Airline Payroll Support, & 135 Billion Dollars for Paycheck Protection Program for Small Business.”
However, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said there will be no piecemeal coronavirus relief package. Just before McConnell’s admission Friday, President Trump raised the amount the Trump administration is willing to spend on a second relief package from $1.6 trillion to $1.8 trillion, but that is still short of the $2.2 trillion Democrats want to spend on a new package.