McConnell says no COVID-19 bill likely before Election Day
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's most powerful GOP ally in the Senate said Friday that Congress is unlikely to deliver another big COVID-19 relief bill before the election, casting doubt on the on-again, off-again negotiations that have failed to deliver results so far despite weeks of talks.
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told an audience in Kentucky that he doesn't see a deal coming together soon out of a “murky" situation in which the participants in the negotiations are elbowing for political advantage.
“I'd like to see us rise above that like we did in March and April but I think it's unlikely in the next three weeks," McConnell said.
He spoke after Trump apparently performed an about-face, empowering Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to resume negotiations with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., on a larger, comprehensive coronavirus relief package despite calling off the talks just days before.
Trump on Friday took to Twitter to declare, “Covid Relief Negotiations are moving along. Go Big!”
And White House economic adviser Lawrence Kudlow told reporters that “developments are positive” and that the “the bid and the offer have narrowed” in advance of a telephone conversation later Friday between Pelosi and Mnuchin.
McConnell remains a skeptic that a deal can come together — and he's has issued private warnings that many Senate Republicans will oppose a deal in the range that Pelosi is seeking.
“We do need another rescue package," McConnell said. “But the proximity to the election and the differences about what is need at this particular juncture are pretty vast."
His remarks capped a tumultuous week in which Trump and sent conflicting signals and made unworkable demands. On Tuesday, he ordered an end to the weekslong talks...
