Senate Republicans in tough races fretting over inability to pass COVID relief: report

On Thursday, Politico reported that several GOP senators facing a tough re-election bid in November are growing frustrated over Congress' failure to get a new round of COVID-19 relief passed.

“There’s no reason we shouldn’t all be here until the election if that’s what it takes to pass a follow up to the CARES Act,” said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), who has mostly trailed or tied Democratic challenger Cal Cunningham. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), trailing in most polls against Maine House Speaker Sara Gideon, agreed, saying “I do not think we should recess without a coronavirus package,” and Sen. David Perdue (R-GA), whose race is also close, said "This should’ve been done three weeks ago ... I'm very frustrated by that."

All of this comes as the economic rebound from early summer has slowed, with the previous round of stimulus tapering off.

"The Senate appears to be sticking around for at least another week, if not more, to keep the Supreme Court nomination of Amy Coney Barrett moving forward," reported Burgess Everett and John Bresnahan."Judiciary Committee confirmation hearings on Barret are set to begin Oct. 12. And the House can always reconvene to process a bill if there’s any deal. But it might take a push from those most at risk of losing their jobs in a month to get any deal over the finish line."

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has tried to hold the line on keeping the stimulus package spending low, fearful that another multi-trillion-dollar package would fracture his caucus. The Trump administration has proposed a package of $1.6 trillion, and many Senate Republicans have suggested they are open to this.

As of Thursday evening, there is still no sign of an agreement, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) saying no deal is in sight.