President Trump has stopped his Aides for any COVID-19 Relief talks with Democrats

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US President Donald Trump is still recovering from his coronavirus infection. He announced on Monday and ordered his team to stop negotiations with congressional Democrats towards another bill designed to provide relief to families and businesses hit hard by the pandemic. The sudden announcement from the President shakes the US stock markets. They had been riding hopes of a new deal to further bolster what has been a sluggish economy since the virus started sweeping from coast to coast. The Dow Jones was down 500 points, but that drop had improved to about 280 points as of 3:30 p.m. President Trump tweeted and said, “I have instructed my representatives 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”.

The dialogues between Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Speaker Nancy Pelosi have been halted for months. Democrats are demanding all their requests be included in a mammoth bill with a price tag in the trillions. But Mnuchin and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows have pushed a smaller bill around $1trn with fewer of each side’s demands. The president has spent much of his first full day back at the White House after his coronavirus hospitalization tweeting about his Democratic foes and the news media. He appears to be in a foul mood if his tweets are any indication. 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.

President Trump said, “We made a very generous offer of $1.6 Trillion Dollars and, as usual, she is not negotiating in good faith. I am rejecting their request, and looking to the future of our Country”. The speaker and the Treasury secretary had been scheduled for another call for 3:30 p.m. on the East Coast to continue negotiations. But several issues are still stopping a deal. The Republican opposition has planned for Democrats to shovel hundreds of billions of dollars more to states and local governments. Democratic opposition to Republican language that would shield businesses, health care facilities, and schools from liability lawsuits related to Covid-19 exposure, and several other lynchpin issues. The tweet thread prompted almost immediate fire from congressional Democrats.