In an update on the status of the next round of stimulus funding for the COVID-19 crisis, a Republican senator confessed the sinister reason his party isn’t in a rush to get anything done.
Speaking to the Washington Post, Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) confessed it’s because they don’t want to spend the money.
“There are some over here that think we benefit from doing nothing because people don’t want to spend any more money,” he said. “I’d say it’s gonna be tough.”
It was assumed that Republicans would be more willing to deal because it is an election year, and many are desperate to keep their seats in November. Yet, the unprecedented pandemic and national emergency didn’t seem as urgent as one might assume.
In a scathing piece, the Post editorial board blasted Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) for dragging his feet and not jumping to help a country in crisis. Democrats, by contrast, passed their next version of the stimulus in May. McConnell has let it sit for two months with no action.
“Cramer said he thought it was possible that even if they succeed in overcoming their internal differences, Republicans would be unable to bridge the ‘pretty big gap’ with Democrats, who have embraced a $3 trillion bill containing multiple priorities Republicans oppose, such as a large package of aid for cities and states, among other things,” the report said.
Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin told the GOP that if they didn’t act by the end of next week, millions of Americans would lose their unemployment benefits.