Coronavirus relief bill: Republicans fail to agree, raising doubts about a final deal

Speaker Nancy Pelosi wants a deal by the end of next week, but Senate Republican squabbling is a major hurdle

Republicans remain deeply divided over how to address the ongoing coronavirus pandemic as party leaders enter negotiations on a fifth package of relief legislation this week, muddying the waters for bipartisan talks that also involve Democrats and senior Trump administration officials.

Several Senate Republicans emerged from their caucus lunch on Tuesday frustrated by the meeting, which exposed lingering concerns among deficit hawks over how much the federal government has already spent on the Covid-19 response and how much more it can afford to do.

"A lot of people were expressing serious concerns that we are spending too damn much money," Senator Ted Cruz told reporters.

Senator Rand Paul, always keen on reducing federal spending, compared the GOP caucus lunch to a meeting of "Bernie bros" or the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

While Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows expressed optimism earlier in the day Congress could come to terms on a compromise agreement between the parties and pass a bill before the end of the week, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell scoffed at such an ambitious target date.

"No," he told reporters at a news conference about whether that timeline was feasible, though he did say the GOP would introduce its own bill "in the next few days."

Even Democratic leaders couldn't help themselves from commenting on the apparent disarray among Republicans.

“Republicans are in shambles," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters on Tuesday as he headed into a meeting with Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Mr Meadows and Mr Mnuchin.Senate Minority Leader

Mr McConnell reiterated on Thursday what he has been vowing for months: that the next coronavirus relief package will include a measure to shield businesses, health care providers, and schools from lawsuits stemming from possible exposure to Covid-19.

“I won’t put a bill on the floor that doesn’t have liability protection in it," the majority leader said.

Mr McConnell also indicated on Tuesday that Republicans are intent to authorise "another round of direct payments to help American families keep driving our national comeback," though he did not specify who would qualify for a second round of stimulus checks, or how much they would be worth.

Mr McConnell has not acceded to Democratic demands to renew expanded unemployment benefits signed into law in March and that give recently laid off workers $600 per week. That's more than many laid-off Americans can make at new jobs, thus incentivising them to stay home instead of finding new work, Republicans have said.

The unemployment benefits programme expires at the end of the month, putting lawmakers under the gun to reach an agreement as quickly as possible.

Democrats passed their version of the next coronavirus package months ago in the House, a $3trn, 1,800-page behemoth that includes, among several other proposals,

• billions of dollars for state and local governments;
• an extension of the juiced-up unemployment benefits programme that was signed into law earlier this spring;
• help for people struggling with rent and mortgage payments;
• expanded mail-in voting for the elections this November;
• and an infrastructure package that includes a plan to expand broadband internet access.

Congressional Republicans and White House advisers have signalled they want to keep the price tag of an eventual package somewhere in the ballpark of $1trn.

That has, of course, ruffled the feathers of Mr Paul, who thinks it's too much money after the federal government already spent more than $2.7trn over four previous packages this spring.

"They're talking about spending another trillion dollars. It's fiscally irresponsible, and they should be ashamed of themselves," he said at a news conference on Tuesday.