Coronavirus stimulus talks fall apart in ‘disappointing’ meeting between Democrats, White House

Coronavirus talks between Democratic leaders and the Trump administration ground to a halt Friday after the sides failed to bridge a gulf in how much they want to spend to combat a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows would recommend that President Donald Trump take executive action to offer coronavirus aid “based on our lack of activity today.” The president would move to unilaterally address enhanced unemployment benefits and a federal eviction moratorium — which both lapsed late last month — along with student loan assistance, according to Mnuchin.

“It’s going to take us a little bit of time to finalize these and process them,” the Treasury secretary said. Because Congress controls federal spending, it is unclear what power Trump has to extend those programs. 

Negotiators emerged from a 90-meeting meeting in the Capitol on Friday appearing to have made minimal progress over more than a week and a half of talks. As both sides point to fundamental disagreements over how to address the crisis, it is unclear if or when they can come to a consensus on legislation that could pass both chambers of Congress. 

Leaving Friday’s meeting, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called the huddle “disappointing.” He and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the White House again rejected their offer for Democrats to cut the asking price for their legislation by $1 trillion and for the Trump administration to increase its proposed spending by the same amount.

“I’ve told them, ‘Come back when you are ready to give us a higher number,'” Pelosi, a California Democrat, told reporters.

Mnuchin indicated he would not come to the table again unless Democrats changed their tune on pandemic relief. He said he and Meadows “will be back here any time to listen to new proposals.”

House Democrats passed a roughly $3 trillion relief package in May, and Republicans last week proposed a bill that costs about $1 trillion. Schumer has said Democrats would not accept legislation that puts less than $2 trillion into the pandemic response. 

Pelosi has indicated that she could cut back spending by making some programs expire earlier than originally proposed.

Democrats and Republicans appear to have come closer to an accord on issues including direct payments of up to $1,200 to Americans and extending a moratorium on evictions from federally backed housing. They have failed to bridge a gulf on how to continue enhanced federal unemployment benefits, help schools reopen safely during the pandemic, and aid state and local governments facing budget shortfalls during the outbreak.

In a tweet Friday, Trump said he had “no interest” in Democrats’ request for nearly $1 trillion in state and local relief. 

“We are going a different way!” he wrote. 

In a letter to colleagues Friday, Pelosi outlined several areas of disagreement. It notably did not mention jobless benefits. 

• She said Democrats aim to put $75 billion into Covid-19 testing and treatment, while the GOP bill includes $15 billion. 
• Pelosi wrote that the GOP has offered $150 billion for states and municipalities, far below the $915 billion Democrats proposed. 
• The speaker said the sides are “a couple hundred billion dollars apart” on money to help schools reopen. Republicans included $105 billion for schools in their legislation. 
• Pelosi called for more money for food, water and utility assistance than the GOP has proposed. 
• She said Democrats wanted to secure more concessions on ensuring a complete Census and safe voting during the pandemic.

It would take a massive effort for Democrats and the White House to even reach the outline of a deal soon. But the clock is ticking: the expiration of both the $600 per week enhanced federal unemployment benefit and the eviction moratorium late last month have left millions of Americans scrambling to cover bills and remain in their homes. 

The U.S. added 1.76 million jobs in July despite a resurgence in coronavirus cases that forced many states to pause or reverse their economic reopening plans. The unemployment rate fell to 10.2%, but was still higher than at any point during the 2008 financial crisis.

In a joint statement after the jobs report release Friday, Pelosi and Schumer said the data shows “that the economic recovery spurred by the investments Congress has passed is losing steam and more investments are still urgently needed to protect the lives and livelihoods of the American people.”

Democrats have insisted on extending the jobless benefit long term at $600 per week. The White House has made several counteroffers, reportedly proposing extra payments of $400 per week into December. 

On Friday, Mnuchin said the Trump administration has not received compromise offers on either unemployment insurance or state and municipal relief.

With no agreement on Capitol Hill, Trump — who has not participated in face-to-face talks — has plotted how to act on his own. Pelosi told CNBC on Thursday that she thinks the president has the power to extend the eviction moratorium, and urged him to do so. 

Schumer, though, cautioned Trump on Thursday against taking executive action. He indicated an order could get held up in court. 

“An executive order will leave millions of people out. It will be litigated. It won’t be effective, and things will get worse,” the New York Democrat said Thursday. 

Speaking to reporters Friday, Schumer added that an executive order would be inadequate because it would not include money for schools and Covid-19 testing and treatment. 

Both the Senate and House left for the weekend after Thursday’s sessions. The chambers have delayed their planned August recesses as they anticipate votes on a pandemic relief package. 

Complicating matters in Congress, the talks have taken on bitterness less than three months before the general election. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., finds himself stuck between conservative senators who don’t want to spend more money and swing-state Republicans who need to win their races in November for the GOP to keep its majority in the chamber. 

He will likely have to rely on strong Democratic support to get a bill through the Senate. 

For now, a moment of unity looks far away. Pelosi went as far as to say Meadows “slammed the table and walked out” of a meeting on Thursday. 

Meadows disputed the account. 

“It’s fabricated,” he said.

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