Senate Republicans Silent As McConnell Says Passing Pandemic Relief Would “Disrupt” His Plan to Ram Through Anti-Health Care SCOTUS Nominee

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told his caucus “that he has warned the White House not to make a big stimulus deal before the election” for fear it would “disrupt the Senate’s plans to confirm Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court next week” according to the Washington Post. Despite reports that coronavirus cases and jobless claims are rising, and that vulnerable Senate Republicans were “beginning to fret” about facing constituents in the final weeks of the election after failing to deliver much-needed relief, not one is demanding McConnell act on relief. 

After letting emergency unemployment aid expire in July, Senate Republicans have taken a month-long vacation, pushed a stunt bill that even President Trump said didn’t meet Americans’ needs, and turned their backs on the millions of Americans who desperately need help. Instead, they’ve decided to focus on rushing through their Supreme Court nominee who is hostile to the Affordable Care Act in time to seat her on the court before oral arguments in the GOP lawsuit to strike down the entire ACA a week after Election Day. 

“More families are losing their homes, more workers are losing their jobs, and more children are going hungry, but Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans are focused on ramming through a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court who could gut protections for pre-existing conditions in the middle of a pandemic,” said DSCC spokesperson Helen Kalla. “The fact that not a single Senate Republican is willing to stand up to McConnell and demand additional urgent relief for the American people shows that Republicans’ number one priority is still to repeal the health care law by any means necessary, even at the expense of helping their constituents get through a crisis.”

Washington Post: McConnell warns White House against making stimulus deal before election, sources say
By Jeff Stein and Erica Werner

Key Points:

• Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told Senate Republicans on Tuesday that he has warned the White House not to make a big stimulus deal before the election, according to two people familiar with his remarks.

• McConnell suggested that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is not negotiating in good faith with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, and any deal they reach could disrupt the Senate’s plans to confirm Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court next week.

• McConnell’s stance could kill any chances for passing a new relief deal in the two weeks left before the election. He has made his opposition clear to a new deal in the $2 trillion range Pelosi and Mnuchin are discussing. McConnell told reporters Tuesday that if such a deal were reached and passed by the House with President Trump’s support, he would put it on the Senate floor “at some point.”

• McConnell did not commit to a vote before the election and his private comments to GOP senators suggested there would not be one.

• Many Senate Republicans oppose a massive new spending bill and McConnell is not eager to hold a vote that would divide his conference just before the election, when most Senate Republicans want attention focused on the Barrett nomination.

• The scrambling comes amid multiple signs the economic recovery is straining. The unemployment rate remains high, the travel industry remains in rough shape, and there are growing concerns about problems in the commercial real estate sector. Many restaurants are still struggling, and some continue to go out of business seven months after the pandemic floored the American economy.

• After casting votes on the two narrow relief bills Tuesday and Wednesday, Senate Republicans plan to move on to the Barrett nomination, before recessing through the election — a timeline that does not leave room for wrangling over a big new spending bill.

• Congress has not passed any relief legislation since April. House Democrats passed two far-reaching bills, but Senate Republicans rejected them. A significant minority of Senate Republicans believe enough money already has been spent and nothing more needs to be done.

###