Tipsheet

Game Over, Democrats: McConnell was the Grim Reaper to Pelosi’s Wuhan Pork Bill

Matt Vespa
Matt Vespa  |  March 25, 2020 2:10 AM

It’s over. The game is over. And President Trump, the Republican Party, the country, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have won. Democrats have caved over their antics that blocked a Wuhan Coronavirus relief package aimed at helping American businesses and workers. The $2 trillion package was primed and ready to go on Sunday, with the Senate working throughout the week to get it done. Then, Speaker Nancy Pelosi flew back into D.C.—because the House took the week off—and announced that they will be putting forward their own package, effectively signaling that political theater over this would erupt. It’s what the Democrats wanted. They can’t let anything be viewed as a win for the Trump White House. It’s an election year. And they wanted to tank the markets even further. Well, they got that on Monday. 

It was shoddy from the get-go. Like their shutdown over illegal aliens in the early days of the Trump presidency, the Democrats didn’t have much to stand on here: they were flipping off American workers. Oh, and they co-wrote the Senate bill. Yeah, that was one thing that was explicitly clear, which made this move even more nakedly political. And the Pelosi pork proposal was fraught with nonsense, like $35 million for the Kennedy Center, $600 million for the IRS, diversity on corporate boards, and voting rights provisions—all of which does nothing to help American workers during this economic shutdown over the Wuhan virus. Well, they call McConnell the grim reaper for nothing. We have a deal, and it’s pretty much what was going to be voted on from the start of this mini fiasco (via Fox News):

The White House and Senate leaders reached a breakthrough deal shortly after midnight Wednesday on a massive and historic $2 trillion coronavirus relief package for workers and businesses, Fox News has confirmed, capping off days of heated negotiations that had nearly been derailed by last-minute demands from House Democrats.

“Ladies and gentleman, we are done," White House legislative affairs director Eric Ueland announced as he left the office of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., near midnight. "We have a deal."

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said the bill amounts to “unemployment compensation on steroids," and that every American laid off will have their missed salary remunerated. The bombshell provision will enable companies to stay afloat and immediately bring back those employees when things are safe, Schumer said.

McConnell said the Senate will meet at 12:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, but did not set a time for a vote. By rule, the procedural vote to begin debate on the coronavirus package would happen at 1 p.m. ET, unless the Senate scraps that vote.

“Democrats are finally taking ‘yes’ for an answer," McConnell said in his remarks on the floor. "Help is on the way.”

I’m sure Guy will have a more in-depth analysis in the morning. He's been following the Democratic theatrics from the get-go. Be on the lookout for that soon, but for now—celebrate. The markets should respond well to this news. We need it.