Sen. Lisa MurkowskiLisa Ann MurkowskiMurkowski after Trump halts talks: Congress must move on virus package GOP struggles to play defense on Trump’s ObamaCare lawsuit Vulnerable Republicans break with Trump on ObamaCare lawsuit MORE (R-Alaska) said Tuesday that she thought talks on another coronavirus relief package should continue, even after President TrumpDonald John TrumpTrump and Biden’s plans would both add to the debt, analysis finds Trump says he will back specific relief measures hours after halting talks Trump lashes out at FDA over vaccine guidelines MORE pulled the plug until after the election.
“Now is not the time for Congress to stop doing its work. I strongly believe negotiations should continue, particularly among those of us in Congress. … We all need to keep working until we reach a bipartisan agreement that can pass both chambers and be signed by the president,” Murkowski said in a statement.
Murkowski is the second GOP senator to push back against the abrupt end to the negotiations, which Trump announced via a series of tweets earlier Tuesday.
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Trump’s decision comes as House Speaker Nancy PelosiNancy PelosiDemocratic Rep. Carbajal tests positive for COVID-19 Trump defends move to halt relief talks, accuses Democrats of playing ‘games’ Biden pounces on Trump decision to end COVID-19 relief talks MORE (D-Calif.) and Treasury Secretary Steven MnuchinSteven Terner MnuchinMurkowski after Trump halts talks: Congress must move on virus package Susan Collins: Punting coronavirus relief until after election a ‘huge mistake’ Stocks plunge after Trump orders end to coronavirus stimulus talks MORE have talked daily, and met in person last week, as part of an effort to try to revive the long-stalled negotiations and reach an agreement.
The president, however, said in a string of tweets that he had told his negotiating team — Mnuchin and White House chief of staff Mark MeadowsMark Randall MeadowsFormer GOP chair Michael Steele calls Trump ‘the superspreader’ in the White House Murkowski after Trump halts talks: Congress must move on virus package Overnight Health Care: Trump calls off coronavirus relief talks MORE — to walk away.
“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,” Trump tweeted.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnellAddison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellDemocratic Rep. Carbajal tests positive for COVID-19 Trump defends move to halt relief talks, accuses Democrats of playing ‘games’ Intercept DC bureau chief: GOP ready to pull out the stops for Barrett’s nomination MORE (R-Ky.) offered support for Trump’s decision on Tuesday, saying the president’s view “was that they were not going to produce a result.”
McConnell has been publicly noncommittal about moving any deal reached by Pelosi and Mnuchin in the Senate. And top members of his leadership team have cast doubt that a bill starting at $1.5 trillion or $1.6 trillion, the White House’s latest offer, could get enough GOP support to pass the Senate.
But Sen. Susan CollinsSusan Margaret CollinsMurkowski after Trump halts talks: Congress must move on virus package Susan Collins: Punting coronavirus relief until after election a ‘huge mistake’ Biden leads Trump by 11 points in Maine: survey MORE (R-Maine), an endangered incumbent who like Murkowski is part of a dwindling group of moderates, called the decision to end talks a “huge mistake.”
“I have already been in touch with the Secretary of the Treasury, one of the chief negotiators, and with several of my Senate colleagues,” Collins said in a statement.
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