Northwest lawmakers react after Trump calls off COVID-19 relief negotiations

WASHINGTON – Northwest Democratic and GOP lawmakers engaged in mutual finger-pointing after President Donald Trump announced Tuesday afternoon he would stop negotiations with congressional Democrats over another round of coronavirus relief spending until after the election, guaranteeing no further economic stimulus for at least another month.

Trump said via tweet that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., was “not negotiating in good faith” after the House passed a $2.2 trillion relief package Oct. 1, a pared-down version of the $3 trillion bill Democrats passed in May.

“I have instructed my representatives to stop negotiating until after the election,” Trump wrote, “when, immediately after I win, we will pass a major Stimulus Bill that focuses on hardworking Americans and Small Business.”

Democrats and Republicans remain far apart on both the total price tag and key provisions in a potential compromise bill. Regardless of the outcome of the election, the same negotiators will have to return to the table after Nov. 3 and it is unclear if the political calculus for either party will change enough to reach a deal.

Pelosi reportedly told Democratic leaders on a call Monday night that the negotiations with White House officials were going “very slowly.”

Trump’s statement came just hours after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell warned of “tragic” consequences if Congress doesn’t do more to bolster the economy.

“Too little support would lead to a weak recovery, creating unnecessary hardship for households and businesses,” Powell told a virtual gathering of economists. “By contrast, the risks of overdoing it seem, for now, to be smaller.”

The president made his announcement a day after he returned to the White House from Walter Reed National Military Hospital outside Washington following his diagnosis with the virus last week. In a video posted to Twitter on Monday, the president said of the disease, which had killed 210,000 Americans as of Tuesday, “Don’t let it dominate you. Don’t be afraid of it.”

“We have the best medical equipment, we have the best medicines,” said Trump, who was treated with an experimental drug not available to the general public. “I know there’s a risk, there’s a danger, but that’s OK. And now I’m better and maybe I’m immune. I don’t know.”

In the hours after Trump called off talks, statements from Northwest lawmakers reflected the gulf between the two parties. Initially reluctant to exceed $1 trillion, Republicans have now offered a $1.6 trillion package, while Democrats have come down from their initial $3 trillion proposal to the $2.2 trillion version they passed last week.

“It’s clear that workers on the front line fighting this virus need more help and so does our economy,” Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said in a statement. “Now is not the time for anyone to walk away.”

More than the price tag, the parties are divided over how the money should be spent and other provisions to include in the massive package. Democrats want more funds for state and local governments than Republicans are willing to spend. The GOP is insisting on liability protections to shield companies from COVID-related lawsuits, while Democrats instead want to focus on improving workplace protections and have not made clear if they would accept some version of a liability waiver.

“To date, Republicans’ repeated efforts to deliver targeted relief in areas where we can agree has been rebuffed by Democrats,” Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, said in a statement. “Most recently, Republicans offered a $1.6 trillion package that included liability protections for those acting in good faith, additional support for small businesses, funding for health care and education and financial relief for Americans most in need. Negotiating toward a realistic package that can actually get passed and signed into law would best serve the American people during this difficult time.”

In his statement on Twitter, Trump said he was directing Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell to set aside the relief negotiations and “to instead focus full time on approving my outstanding nominee to the United States Supreme Court, Amy Coney Barrett.”

Washington Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, decried Trump’s decision in a Tweet that echoed concerns among Democrats that Barrett, who has criticized elements of the Affordable Care Act, could help overturn the health care law.

“President Trump told Republicans to stop working on critical pandemic relief & instead focus on trying to jam through his anti-health care SCOTUS nominee,” Murray wrote. “210K in the US are dead & countless more are struggling due to this virus–yet that’s not Republicans’ priority. Despicable.”

Sen. Jim Risch, another Idaho Republican, cited his support for multiple Senate bills Democrats shot down as inadequate, including a package Capitol insiders dubbed the “skinny” bill that would have approved $300 billion in new spending and repurposed roughly $350 billion in previously approved money.

“Idaho families and small businesses need help,” Risch said in a statement. “Early this year, I supported all of the coronavirus relief packages that were presented to the Senate for a vote. Additionally, in September, I voted in favor of the Targeted COVID-19 Relief Package that would have provided coronavirus relief funding to American families, schools, small businesses and health care workers. Unfortunately, Democrats blocked the bill.”

A spokeswoman for Rep. Russ Fulcher, a North Idaho Republican, cited his support for a motion led by Southwest Washington GOP Rep. Jaime Herrera-Beutler that would extend the Paycheck Protection Program, which expired in August. Democrats have opposed piecemeal relief legislation, favoring a comprehensive bill.

“Negotiations are not one-sided,” the spokeswoman, Alexah Rogge, wrote in an email. “So far, Speaker Pelosi’s proposals in the House have been extremely partisan, with no chance of actually becoming law – despite requests from members within her own party to make these bills more realistic. It is self evident that Speaker Pelosi is unwilling to take part in serious negotiations, particularly during a tumultuous election year when there are partisan incentives to politicize every interaction with the President.”