Stimulus: Nancy Pelosi Calls Donald Trump’s Executive Orders ‘Illusions’

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi appeared on Fox News Sunday this weekend, where she slammed President Donald Trump‘s new executive order. The president tried to use an executive order to force some measures of financial relief through when it comes to the coronavirus pandemic, as negotiations between the United States Senate and the U.S. Congress continue. Pelosi did not think that Trump’s executive order was the right solution.

In a discussion with Fox News’ Chris Wallace, Pelosi said that Trump’s executive order is an “illusion,” and a sign of “weakness” as the president struggles to take effective action. “While it has the illusion of saying we’re going to have a moratorium on evictions, it says I’m gonna ask the folks in charge to study if that’s feasible. While he says he’s going to do the payroll tax, what he’s doing is undermining Social Security and Medicare, so these are illusions,” Pelosi said.

Pelosi pointed out that negotiations between the White House and the Senate are as tense as those between the Senate and Congress itself. She even suggested that lawmakers in both houses were agreed on their criticism of the president, saying: “what the president did is — I agreed what the Republican senator said — is unconstitutional slop.”

In practical terms, Pelosi cast doubt on whether Trump’s order will even accomplish any of the things it set out dto do. She noted that the orders “don’t give the money in enhanced benefits, but puts a complicated formula there which will take a while, if at all, to accomplish to put money in the pockets of the American people.”

Pelosi was only reiterating what she had said previously in a joint public statement with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. “Today’s meager announcements by the president show President Trump still does not comprehend the seriousness or the urgency of the health and economic crises facing working families,” the two lawmakers said on behalf of their party on Saturday. “We’re disappointed that instead of putting in the work to solve Americans’ problems, the President instead chose to stay on his luxury golf course to announce unworkable, weak and narrow policy announcements to slash the unemployment benefits that millions desperately need and endanger seniors’ Social Security and Medicare.”

As the White House attempts to put Trump’s executive order into action, Congress and the Senate continue to debate their next stimulus package. There is no solid estimate yet on when the two groups might reach an agreement.