Republicans balking at throwing Trump's campaign a life-line with a big stimulus package: report

According to a report from the Daily Beast, Republican senators who are fully aware that Donald Trump's presidential campaign is struggling mightily due to the coronavirus and the economic toll it has taken on the country, are showing no interest in passing a massive stimulus package that could help out his re-election prospects.

With the $600 a week unemployment supplement expiring this week and the states shutting down again due to a rise in COVID-19 infections, both houses of  Congress are trying to cobble together a package, but the Republican-controlled Senate is getting nowhere with hardline conservatives -- many of the Trump supporters -- unwilling to take on more debt.

Pointing out that next stimulus package is likely to be the last one passed before the November election, the Beast reports that Republicans are at war with each other over spending even if it might help the president hold onto the Oval Office.

"Senate Republicans aren’t sure how lengthy a legislative lifeline to toss to the president—or even if they should hand one at all," the report states. "Some lawmakers have a narrow, targeted extension of benefits in mind, while self-described fiscal hawks who are close Trump allies have started to loudly skewer the idea of another trillion-dollar bill, arguing that Trump would be damaged more if he approved such a bill than if he did not."

One of Trump biggest supporters, Sen Ron Johnson (R-WI) appears dead set against a major cash jolt to the economy.

“I don’t think it’d be a problem not passing this trillion dollars. Not at all,” said Johnson. “You take a look at what we haven’t spent of the $2.9 trillion [already appropriated] and spend it better.”

The Beast reports, "As Senate Republicans struggled to even get to the starting line to negotiations with Democrats—on Thursday, a draft agreement between GOP lawmakers and the White House was set to be introduced but was then scuttled to Monday—there seemed to be little alarm that falling short in countering the crisis gripping the country would have any kind of negative impact on Trump’s quest for another four years."

Another Trump booster, Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) dismissed pundits who claim Trump needs a big stimulus package to help his campaign.

“You’re naive if you say nobody ever considers the politics,” explained Kennedy. “But in this environment, my prediction is, on the politics, that the experts will be wrong. They almost always are anyway.”

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