Donald Trump promises 'tremendous stimulus' immediately after the election despite months of deadlock as Wall Street falls again amid fears of no progress on COVID bailout
President Donald Trump is promising a new coronavirus relief package in the lame duck Congress after the election – after failing to get one in the proceeding weeks.
Trump made the statement outside the White House after yet another day of market drops, with the Dow down 250 points Friday morning, after taking steep dives earlier this week.
Analysts peg the drop to heightened concerns about record U.S. coronavirus infections, looming lockdowns, and the collapse of stimulus talks between the White House and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
'We will have a tremendous stimulus package immediately after the election,' said President Donald Trump Friday
'We will have a tremendous stimulus package immediately after the election,' Trump said Friday as he headed out for campaign events with just four days to go before Election Day. He immediately turned to the election –predicting Republicans would take back the House despite expert predictions Democrats could pad their majority.
'And I think we're going to take back the House. I think we're going to do very well in the Senate. A little bit more complex frankly, and I think we're going to have a fantastic presidential election,' Trump said.
Presidents and Congresses have struggled in the past to enact major legislation during lame duck periods after an election. Lawmakers often feel less or no pressure to act, some are eager to stay in their districts, and the president has reduced leverage if he loses.
Pelosi sent a letter this week to Treasury Secretary Mnuchin outlined the many areas where the two sides do not have agreement, including testing, funds for state and local governments, funding for schools, unemployment insurance, and other topics.
'As the coronavirus surges and the stock market plummets, we are still awaiting the Trump Administration´s promised responses on multiple items of critical importance,' she wrote. 'Your responses are critical for our negotiations to continue.'
She told reporters Thursday: 'We've come to a fork in the road when it comes to the coronavirus. The President has taken us on a deadly path. The Heroes Act takes us on a scientific path to help save the lives and the livelihood and the lives of the American people,' she said yesterday.
She pushed back on the idea of accepting a small bill and coming back for more after Biden is elected – something Pelosi predicted will happen.
'This is not a small – we're not talking size. We're talking quality. We are not going to take a small bill that has the bulk of reinforcing funds to the richest people in America, while questioning the integrity of people on Unemployment Insurance,' she said.
Wall Street was set to have its worst week since the pandemic was raging in March – even after a robust third quarter economic growth figure of 33 per cent that Trump has hyped.
Pelosi blasted the administration and Republicans for the failure of the roughly $2 trillion package, despite months of negotiations.
Trump in recent weeks said he wanted to 'go big,' but received pushback from Senate Republicans who balked at the cost.
Some political experts have been baffled that the White House wouldn't accept concessions to get money into Americans' pockets on the eve of an election.
'I would rather do it now, but Nancy Pelosi does not want to do it,' Trump said on 'The Jon Taffer Podcast' Thursday in Las Vegas.