US President Donald Trump said he would sign a bill approving another round of Covid-19 relief checks if one crossed his desk, apparently backtracking after saying he’d ended stimulus talks with Democrats until after the election.
“[If I sent] a Stand Alone Bill for Stimulus Checks ($1,200), they will go out to our great people IMMEDIATELY. I am ready to sign right now. Are you listening Nancy?” Trump tweeted on Tuesday evening amid a flurry of posts, tagging his own chief of staff Mark Meadows and leadership in both parties.
Some seven hours earlier, the president said he had instructed his staff to stop negotiating with Democrats on new stimulus legislation “until after the election.” He argued that while Republicans offered a “very generous” bill with a price tag of $1.6 trillion, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) remained committed to a $2.4 trillion bill and was “not negotiating in good faith.”
The announcement sent a shock wave through markets, tanking the Dow Jones by some 500 points and the NASDAQ by over 200, while the S&P 500 shed 60 points, prompting some to speculate that Trump’s late-night reversal was designed to reassure traders.
Some observers were simply confused by the president’s apparent about-face, many sarcastically blaming the various medications he was prescribed following his coronavirus diagnosis last week.
The proposal also found support among netizens, however, some suggesting GOP Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell should head to Trump’s office to discuss the idea, while others said the president had wisely placed the ball in the Democrats’ court.
Talks between party leaders over the Democrats’ stimulus bill, the HEROES Act, have stalled with less than a month before the 2020 election, with Republicans slamming the legislation as a partisan wish list containing provisions unrelated to the pandemic. Lawmakers across the aisle insist the GOP is holding the bill hostage, arguing the party is simply unwilling to approve the spending needed to offset the economic pain brought by sweeping government lockdowns to mitigate the health crisis.
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