G’morning. Quick thread from Playbook today
@SpeakerPelosi and Washington’s Most Eager Man, @stevenmnuchin1, are likely to speak about Covid relief this afternoon -- the 90th day since talks between the administration and PELOSI began back in July.
@SpeakerPelosi and Washington’s Most Eager Man, @stevenmnuchin1, are likely to speak about Covid relief this afternoon -- the 90th day since talks between the administration and PELOSI began back in July.
2 THINGS ARE HAPPENING RIGHT NOW: Rs on Capitol Hill are worried that @MNUCHIN and @realDonaldTrump will throw aside their concerns and agree to a $2 trillion-plus deal.
DEMOCRATS are wondering if the White House even wants a deal -- especially after MNUCHIN went on television last week and said he would accept the Democrats’ testing plan, but later struck 55% of what PELOSI had drawn up.
Also unsolved: a child tax credit, child care funding, census policies, unemployment benefits, state and local funding -- and more. Tuesday is the deadline, before negotiators start turning their focus to crafting a lame-duck deal.
WE ARE STILL SKEPTICAL they will reach a deal by Tuesday, although it’s certainly not impossible. And if they do, that would mean calling the House back this week -- Thursday, Friday or, yes, Saturday.
The Senate will need at least a week to process this -- if they decide to take it up at all. That pushes the schedule up against election week -- not to mention that Senate Republicans are not in favor of the outlines of this bill.
MARKETS are optimistic about the prospects of this process, perhaps because PELOSI said she was optimistic in her letter to Democrats. SHH, IT’S A SECRET: PELOSI frequently says she’s optimistic.
MEANWHILE, @senatemajldr is going to speak on the floor this afternoon, and is expected to tee up votes Tuesday on the Paycheck Protection Program and Wednesday on the rest of a $500-billion stimulus bill. Democrats are expected to block this, and it will almost certainly fail.
TRUMP thinks Rs will pass a package “I think Nancy Pelosi maybe is coming along.…I want to do it at a bigger number than she wants. That doesn’t mean all the Republicans agree with me, but I think they will in the end if she would go along, I think they would too, on stimulus"
BUT THE EVIDENCE suggests Republicans are moving in the other direction -- finding it advantageous to dump TRUMP and distance themselves from him. First was Sen. BEN SASSE (R-Neb.). AND NOW IT’S Sen. JOHN CORNYN (R-Texas) …
star-telegram.com/news/politics-…
star-telegram.com/news/politics-…
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