Stimulus talks have broken down, and countless people across the U.S. are on the verge of potential financial hardship. However, Wisconsin GOP Sen. Ron Johnson is in favor of the current stalemate.
“From my standpoint, the breakdown in the talks is very good news. It’s very good news for future generations,” Johnson told Breitbart. “I hope the talks remain broken down.” He went on to say that he does not support any new spending that adds to the federal debt. Instead, he wants any expenditure to be relegated through the first stimulus package, the CARES Act. The $2 trillion emergency bill was passed in March with little deliberation as to its urgency.
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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who was representing Democrats in the negotiations along with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, told reporters on Wednesday that she does not want negotiations to drag out until the end of September, which happens to be when government funds will expire. She said that there could be grave problems if Congress is unable to come to an agreement in the next few weeks. Pelosi shared that she hopes that negotiations will not be dragged out until the end of September, as she said that “people will die” if they are not able to grant Americans economic relief soon.
There’s also the fact that White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, who’s been representing President Donald Trump along with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, is currently on vacation. This means that negotiations will be unable to resume until he returns, which won’t be until Aug. 17. Of course, none of this has sat well with angry constituents.
On Tuesday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell tweeted that Democrats are refusing to budge on “non-COVID-related, liberal demands” were preventing funding for “testing, treatments, or vaccines.”
Mnuchin did speak to Pelosi over the phone on Wednesday, who later released a joint statement with Schumer that signaled they wouldn’t be restarting discussions following Mnuchin’s rejection of their offer to raise the total cost of the stimulus. The Democrats have proposed a figure close to $3 trillion, which was the price tag of the HEROES Act passed by the House in May. Mnuchin, however, had previously stated that the HEALS Act would be capped at $1 trillion.
