Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) backed President Trump’s move to walk away from coronavirus relief negotiations, which were drug out by Democrats’ refusal to compromise. The president instructed Republicans in Congress and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin to end talks with Democrats, accusing Speaker Pelosi of negotiating in bad faith.
Leader McConnell said that he supports President Trump’s move, which was decided because they could not “produce a result” and that Republicans should “concentrate on what’s achievable.”
"I do," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told me when asked if he supports President Trump's decision to end stimulus talks.
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) October 6, 2020
"I think his view was that they were not going to produce a result and we need to concentrate on what's achievable," McConnell said of Trump's move.
>@senatemajldr told @mkraju he supported TRUMP pulling the plug on Covid talks: “Well i think his view was that they were not going to produce a result and we need to concentrate on what’s achievable."
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) October 6, 2020
Instead of working toward an additional relief package, Senate Republicans will focus on confirming Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the highest court in the land.
It was Leader McConnell and members of the Trump administration that spent the past few months negotiating in good faith, in hopes of compromising on additional COVID-19 relief legislation. Senate Democrats even went as far as to filibuster a package crafted by Republicans, blocking debate on the bill to avoid articulating their specific concerns.
The president promised that a relief package would be prioritized if Republicans keep the majority in November’s general election.
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