- Trump first stated he was halting talks about the stimulus until after the election – stock market prices dropped
- Later, Trump stated in a Tweet that he will immediately sign for new individual stimulus relief packages – stock market prices recovered quickly the following morning
- The first Tweet was sent an hour before market close, and the news that he would sign stimulus relief bills came after market close and before markets opened on Wednesday morning.
Millions of Americans are either unemployed or underemployed, in the worst economic climate the globe has faced in a century. Even as the Federal Reserve Chairman, Jerome Powell made it clear that fiscal stimulus was a necessity, Trump baffled everyone with his move to halt talks.
According to a report from CNN, Powell has kept up to date with the developments. He has been in close contact with both House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who have been leading the negotiations for their parties.
Earlier in the day, before Trump’s initial tweet that halted the talks, it is understood that the two sides were far from reaching consensus. However, they were scheduled to meet the following day to make some progress. Trump’s news adversely affected the financial markets, which tumbled sharply after its earlier gains in the hopes of a deal being reached.
Pelosi insists that the stimulus package should not be broken up into smaller pieces. She and Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader, have been strategically rejecting any such proposals. They continue to want a stimulus package of at least $2.4 trillion, whereas Trump insisted $1.6 trillion would do.
Members of the Republican National Committee were quick to note that they were displeased with the move by Trump. On the other hand, Democrats acknowledged that this gave their side a helping hand. Senator Susan Collins of Maine said in a statement: “Waiting until after the election to reach an agreement on the next Covid-19 relief package is a huge mistake.”
Trump changed course again late the following night. He took to Twitter again with a pair of tweets calling on the House and Senate to immediately approve an airline payroll support of $25 billion, and $135 billion for small businesses in a paycheck protection program. He also asked for a stand-alone bill for another stimulus package to help individuals. In the meantime, Wall Street started to rebound in the hope of at least some isolated stimulus deal.
Most confounding in all this uncertainty over stimulus is that Republicans recently blocked a support bill proposed in the House by Transportation and Infrastructure Chair, Peter DeFazio (Oregon’s Democratic Representative). The bill was meant to stave off massive layoffs in the airline industry.
Stimulus prospects have once again dimmed as Pelosi demanded a revamped offer by the White House. She also rejected the announcement made by Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnel of his plan to roll out a smaller scale strategy for the Paycheck Proposal Program soon. As McConnel announced the plans for the relief, the President tweeted, “Go big or go home!”
As Trump and Pelosi continue to attack each other’s sanity, Trump has had to go off his campaign trail as he recovers from COVID-19. With the elections now only weeks away, Trump may be hoping that a second round of relief with stimulus checks may help revive his waning popularity as early voters head to the polls.
