Top Democrats on Tuesday pressed GOP leaders to pick up the pace on coronavirus relief, needling the Republicans with the unsubtle reminder that the sides …
Top Democrats on Tuesday pressed GOP leaders to pick up the pace on coronavirus relief, needling the Republicans with the unsubtle reminder that the sides can’t negotiate a deal without a GOP bill. “They’re all in disarray — you hear different Republicans say different things — and we can’t negotiate on a vague concept, that’s not how it’s going to work,” Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N. Y.) told reporters. “We need a specific bill.” Hours earlier, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) laid out the contours of the Republicans’ next coronavirus bill, vowing to introduce it formally later this week. He did not specify when. But divisions among Republicans in the Senate and the White House on issues like a payroll tax cut — a provision favored by President Trump — have complicated the internal GOP debate. Democrats have seized on those divisions to highlight the Republicans’ struggles. But they’re also warning that the looming expiration of funding for emergency programs like unemployment insurance means the window is closing to reach a deal before Americans start losing those benefits.
