Trump rejects Democrats’ COVID-19 stimulus package [Video]

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• President Donald Trump has rejected the updated COVID-19 stimulus package proposed by Democrats.
• He said that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is “not negotiating in good faith” and asked GOP representatives “to stop negotiating until after the election.”
• The latest proposal by Democrats is worth $2.2 trillion dollars, still higher than Trump’s $1.6 trillion plan.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday afternoon rejected the Democratic stimulus package ━ the revised HEROES Act worth $2.2 trillion that was passed by the House last week.

“Nancy Pelosi is asking for $2.4 Trillion Dollars to bail out poorly run, high crime, Democrat States, money that is in no way related to COVID-19. I am rejecting their request, and looking to the future of our country,” Trump wrote on Twitter, resulting in stocks plunging.

Trump’s tweet came as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin made another sit-down negotiation with the objective that the proposal would reach a consensus both in the House and the Senate.

The president also said that he asked house legislators “to stop negotiating until after the election when, immediately after I win, we will pass a major Stimulus Bill that focuses on hardworking Americans and Small Business.”

Instead, he directed the GOP members to concentrate on confirming Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court nomination ahead of Election Day.

“Today, once again, President Trump showed his true colors: putting himself first at the expense of the country, with the full complicity of the GOP Members of Congress,” Pelosi said in a statement. “Walking away from coronavirus talks demonstrates that President Trump is unwilling to crush the virus.”

“Sadly, they are rejecting the urgent warnings of Fed Chairman Powell today, that ‘Too little support would lead to a weak recovery, creating unnecessary hardship for households and businesses,” Pelosi continued, citing Powell’s remarks earlier Tuesday.

According to Trump, Pelosi “is not negotiating in good faith” as Republicans made “a very generous offer of $1.6 trillion dollars.”

Despite having several arrangements and call discussions in the last weeks, both parties did not reach an agreement. It is unclear whether negotiations will continue given Trump’s call to suspend the dealings.

Previously, Trump urged his fellow GOPs to “go for the much higher numbers” versus the $300 billion stimulus package that was turned down in the Senate.

After a conversation with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Mnuchin, and House Minority leader Kevin McCarthy, the president decided to end the talks.

The latest HEROES Act amounting to a $2.2 trillion stimulus plan is still larger than the White House’s $1.6 trillion proposal. Hurdles from the deal include allocations for additional unemployment benefits, relief for state and local governments, school funding, child care support, mass testing, and contact tracing, among many others.

Source: AOL.com