Trump walks away from COVID-19 economic stimulus talks

Washington DC, Oct 6 (efe-epa).- The president of the United States on Tuesday called off negotiations with Congress on a new COVID-19 economic stimulus package until after the Nov. 3 election, and after the head of the central bank warned against such a move.

“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,” tweeted Donald Trump, who remains at the White House convalescing for COVID-19.

Talks between the White House and congressional Democrats to approve a new bailout have been stalled and progressives acknowledged last week that they were unlikely to deliver results before the election.

In the absence of progress, the Democrats approved last week in the Lower House, where they have the majority, a package of $2.2 trillion, with a view to restoring the benefits approved in March in another bailout that has expired. However it faced a lack of support in the Republican-dominated Senate and opposition from the White House.

Trump argued in a tweet thread that House Speaker 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.”

“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 stressed.

At the end of March, when the pandemic hit US employment and production hard due to measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, Republicans and Democrats agreed to a rescue plan, which was signed by Trump, at a value total of $2.2 trillion, the largest in the history of the country, but which was insufficient given the severity of the crisis.

Pelosi wrote on Twitter Tuesday that with his decision, the president “has shown his true colors: walking away from coronavirus relief negotiations and refusing to give real help to poor children, the unemployed, and America’s hard working families.”

“He shows his contempt for science, his disdain for our heroes – in health care, first responders, sanitation, transportation, food workers, teachers, teachers, teachers and others – and he refuses to put money in workers’ pockets, unless his name is printed on the check,” Pelosi said in a statement.

In another of his tweets, Trump asked Senate Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to “focus full time” on approving his Supreme Court nominee, conservative Judge Amy Coney Barrett, to fill the vacancy left last month after the death of progressive Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

This issue is a priority for Trump and his supporters ahead of the election, as the Supreme Court has the power to change the laws of the country for decades, having nine judges with life positions, and confirming Barrett’s candidacy would strengthen the majority of conservative magistrates in the court.

“I have asked Mitch McConnell not to delay but instead focus full time on approving my outstanding nominee to the United States Supreme Court, Amy Coney Barret. Our Economy is doing very well. The Stock Market is at record levels, JOBS and unemployment are also coming back in record numbers,” the president wrote.

“We are leading the World in Economic Recovery, and THE BEST IS TO COME!” he concluded.

Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, had insisted Tuesday on the need for additional economic stimulus to overcome the “sharpest downturn on record” in the US due to COVID-19.

In a speech to the National Association for Business Economics Virtual Annual Meeting, Powell repeated his calls to Congress, saying the US economy needs more support to overcome the crisis.

The chair of the US central bank said “the risks of overdoing it seem, for now, to be smaller” than falling short, and that “even if policy actions ultimately prove to be greater than needed, they will not go to waste.”

Pelosi noted in her statement that “clearly, the White House is in complete disarray. Sadly, they are rejecting the urgent warnings of Fed Chairman Powell today, that ‘Too little support would lead to a weak recovery, creating unnecessary hardship for households and businesses. Over time, household insolvencies and business bankruptcies would rise, harming the productive capacity of the economy and holding back wage growth.’”

Democratic presidential nominee Joe BIden said in a statement that Trump had “turned his back on every single worker whose job hasn’t come back yet,” adding: “He turned his back on families struggling to pay rent, put food on their table, and take care of their kids.”

US stock markets fell immediately after the president’s announcement. EFE-EPA

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