Acrimony spikes as Pelosi alleges White House, GOP don’t give “a damn” about unemployed during relief talks

The comments from Pelosi and McConnell came with Democrats and White House negotiators up against a self-imposed Friday deadline to get an agreement on a new deal, with President Trump threatening to take unilateral action on issues including an eviction moratorium and unemployment benefits if they don’t.

Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) are scheduled to meet at 5 p.m. on Thursday with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows for what is expected to be a lengthy negotiating session that could determine whether a deal is possible at all. The same group has been meeting nearly daily for almost a week, with occasional signs of incremental progress but also much public posturing and finger-pointing.

Pressure for a deal is only increasing as some 30 million jobless workers remain without emergency unemployment benefits that expired last week. A moratorium on evictions also recently expired. Meanwhile, a new report on jobless claims on Thursday found that 1.2 million Americans filed jobless claims last week, the 20th straight week more than 1 million people have sought aid.

Despite the weak economic conditions and the continued spread of the pandemic, a compromise looks distant. Meadows declared Wednesday evening that the two sides remained “trillions of dollars apart,” adding: “We’re still in need of a breakthrough moment.”

Meadows accused Pelosi of trying to “wear you down until you finally say ‘I’ve had enough’ and you give in to her demands,” adding: “I typically will not concede as readily as some might think.”

In an interview on CNBC on Thursday, Pelosi said Republicans’ refusal to recognize the needs that exist in the country is standing in the way of getting an agreement.

“Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn,” Pelosi said. “That’s the problem. See, the thing is, they don’t believe in governance.”

Speaking on the Senate floor a short time later, McConnell blamed Democrats for the expiration of emergency unemployment benefits, because Democrats objected when Republicans tried last week to renew them on a short-term basis. House Democrats passed a $3.4 trillion bill in May that would extend the $600 extra weekly benefit through January, but Republicans didn’t offer a counter-proposal or start negotiating until last week, at which point the benefit expiration was imminent.

Republicans have sought to extend the benefits at a lower level, arguing that the $600 weekly bonus — coming on top of whatever state unemployment offices pays — acts as a disincentive for people to return to work.

McConnell also cited a Washington Post fact check piece that found Schumer had at one point wrongly described McConnell’s proposal to extend liability protections to businesses, health care workers, schools and others. McConnell is insisting this provision be part of any bill.

“Instead of getting serious, the Democratic leaders have chosen instead to misrepresent and even lie about what’s at stake,” McConnell said.

Trump announced at the White House on Wednesday that he was preparing executive actions to renew help for the unemployed, extend the moratorium on evictions, and cut the payroll tax — a longtime goal for the president that is opposed by lawmakers of both parties. Meadows also said the administration was eyeing taking unilateral action on money for schools.

Although Democrats have rejected the idea that Trump could spend money without Congress’ approval, the Trump administration has asked federal agencies to identify all of the money they have not yet spent from the $2 trillion Cares Act, which passed in March, according to two people briefed on the effort. White House officials are trying to determine whether this money could be redirected and used for other purposes, such as temporary unemployment benefits.

Pelosi has said that Trump could act unilaterally to extend the eviction moratorium, and speaking on CNBC she encouraged him to do so — while saying that it would have little value without money for rental and housing assistance.

Democrats continued to insist Thursday that talks must continue until a deal is reached.

“We are not going to give up. We are going to keep fighting until we achieve the caliber of legislation the American people during this time of great crisis need and deserve,” Schumer said on the Senate floor. “We’re going to keep working until we get it done.”

Another deadline is approaching on Saturday, with the expiration of the small-business Paycheck Protection Program, which is about to stop accepting applications for new loans unless Congress acts to extend it.

Multiple issues are at play. Democrats’ starting point was the $3.4 trillion bill that passed the House in May. Republicans are rejecting spending anywhere near that amount of money, but Senate Republicans are divided. A half-dozen or so Senate Republicans who are up for re-election in November support more generous expenditures, with some supporting hundreds of billions of dollars for state and local governments. Democrats want around $1 trillion in state and local aid, but Trump has dismissed that demand as a “bailout” for mismanaged states, and the administration put $150 billion on the table earlier this week.

McConnell has repeatedly acknowledged the divisions in his own conference, with some 20 GOP senators reluctant to spend any more money at all after Congress already approved four bipartisan bills in March and April totaling around $3 trillion. McConnell is not taking part in the talks, and has said he’ll support any deal the administration officials and Democrats are able to reach.

Democrats are pushing to renew $600 weekly emergency unemployment benefits that expired last week; the administration has offered $400 weekly through early December. Democrats are also pushing for money for food stamps and child care. The two sides are arguing about money for schools and the postal service. Republicans have sought to link some of the school money to schools reopening, which Democrats oppose. There is a dispute about pensions, and multiple other issues also remain unresolved.