White House considering ‘House of Cards plot’ after stimulus negotiations collapse: report

One week after enhanced unemployment benefits expired, the White House on Friday failed to reach a deal with Congress on the next round of coronavirus stimulus.

While on vacation at his private Trump National Golf Club Bedminister, the commander-in-chief is reportedly considering executive action.

"President Trump signaled on Friday that he planned to forge ahead without Congress to try and address lapsed relief measures for millions of Americans after negotiations with congressional Democrats collapsed after two weeks of fruitless negotiations," Erica Werner and Rachel Bade of The Washington Postreported Friday evening. "Among other things, White House officials are looking at moving funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency into a program that could pay jobless benefits, people briefed on the discussions said."

Their colleague, Post correspondent Dave Weigel thought he had heard of the idea before.

"I hate to do this but... was this not literally a House of Cards plot? Didn’t [President Spacey] raid FEMA to pay for his jobs program?" Weigel asked.