While lawmakers scramble over coming to a consensus on another trillion dollar coronavirus relief bill, Schumer and Pelosi are doing everything they can to stall the process.  As the deadline before August recess gets closer and closer, McConnell and Mnuchin have been working with both sides of the aisle to get something done.  But for Schumer and Pelosi, this is a chance for them to make the GOP look bad, and give their members something to campaign over. 

And President Trump pointed this out today, stating the obvious on twitter, he wrote, “Very disappointed in @SenSchumer for blocking the temporary extension of the $600 unemployment benefits.  The Do Nothing Democrats are more interesting in playing politics than in helping our deserving people.  DRAIN THE SWAMP ON NOVEMBER 3RD!”

President Trump sent a series of tweets on this issue.  For Pelosi and Schumer, they said their opposition to the new coronavirus relief bill was that it lowered unemployment insurance.  McConnell did his best to try to control the narrative on this issue, stating that lowering the insurance to $200 was a bridge so that states could tailor unemployment instead of giving a specific amount.  Furthermore, many Americans in their states are already receiving unemployment benefits, and the $600 was a cushion as the future of the shutdown was uncertain.  Now, the Democrats want to keep it.  And even though the Republicans offered an extension, the Democrats don’t think it’s enough.  Trump wrote, “Pelosi & Schumer have no interest in making a deal that is good for our Country and our People.  All they want is a trillion dollar, and much more, for their Radical Left Governed States, most of which are doing very badly.  It is called a BAILOUT for many years of bad Dem mgmt!”

McConnell also called out the Democrat’s refusal to make a deal.  On his twitter, he wrote, “Republicans tried several ways to extend unemployment benefits.  Democrats blocked them all.  They’re refusing any more COVID relief for anyone unless they get a massive tax cut for rich people in blue states.  The country can’t afford this cynicism.  American’s need help now!”

Schumer wrote on twitter that the Democrat Party would never “stop fighting for the unemployed, Medicaid, safe nursing homes, Americans with disabilities, hungry kids, renters, and more.  But with their opposition to an unemployment insurance extension, they may have a hard time explaining to their constituents how their own refusal to cooperate with Trump means this week, they won’t receive their check. 

Why this matters: The government has created a problem, and now, the government has to fix it.  Each time you give a handout, you then have a hard time taking it away.  As states force businesses to close, Americans are forced to rely on the government.  And the states won’t care to keep enforcing these closures, as long as they have the federal government to back them up. 

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