Trump Turned Tables On Pelosi With Relief Bill Reboot, Allies Say

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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/n...oot-allies-say

Friday, October 09, 2020

Trump turned tables on Pelosi with relief bill reboot, allies say

by David M. Drucker, Senior Political Correspondent |

| October 08, 2020 06:30 AM
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Allies of President Trump are commending his decision to end talks with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi over a coronavirus relief package, saying the surprise move halted passage of bloated legislation and allowed him to reset negotiations on more favorable terms.

Trump tweeted Tuesday that he had ordered Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to break off discussions with Pelosi over providing trillions of dollars in economic assistance for individuals and businesses suffering from the pandemic. In subsequent tweets, Trump said he backed standalone bills to rescue ailing domestic airlines, help teetering small businesses, and send $1,200 stimulus checks to the unemployed. The president’s supporters argued the unorthodox maneuver puts Democrats on their heels weeks before Election Day.

“The president never stops negotiating, and he basically told Pelosi that he’s no longer going to negotiate on her terms,” said Rick Manning, president of the pro-Trump conservative group, Americans for Limited Government. “His tweets are telling the public what Pelosi was walking away from: extended unemployment benefits for people who need it and support for small businesses being destroyed by the lockdown.”

The tussle over another round of coronavirus relief comes less than one month before a contentious election. Trump trails Democratic nominee Joe Biden in most public opinion polls and has been forced to quarantine in the White House until he overcomes a bout with COVID-19, even as time to catch up runs out. The survey data also points to a possible Democratic takeover of the Senate and potential for House Democrats to increase their majority.

In that context, Trump’s decision to cancel negotiations proactively over coronavirus aid nevertheless puzzled some Republican strategists. Even in polls where the president runs behind, voters still give him higher marks than Biden on who would better manage the economy. Enacting bipartisan legislation to keep businesses afloat and help people struggling to pay their bills would play to Trump’s strength and seem like a no-brainer for an incumbent president who needs to alter his political trajectory.

“It does represent a lost opportunity for the president,” a Republican pollster said. “He needs something to shift the numbers, and the clock is ticking. Breaking off negotiations, even if Congress does pass something eventually and he signs it, costs him time that he doesn't have.”

After Trump and a bipartisan majority in Congress agreed swiftly on multiple coronavirus rescue packages in the spring, disagreement between House Democrats and Senate Republicans stalled more aid. House Democrats passed a $3 trillion bill in May. But Senate Republicans balked, saying it was too laden with pork for states that were mismanaging their finances. But Pelosi retained the upper hand because Senate Republicans could not agree on a counteroffer.

Only after Trump voiced support for a $1.6 trillion bill negotiated by the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus in Congress, and House Democrats who represent swing districts complained to Pelosi, did the speaker produce a new, $2.2 trillion package. She was negotiating with Mnuchin on a bridge between the two bills when Trump pulled the plug and demanded separate, standalone legislation.

David McIntosh, president of the Trump-aligned Club for Growth, conceded that the president’s approach was curious.

“He doesn’t practice the time-honored Washington art of letting the other side walk into a trap,” McIntosh said, alluding to Trump's sudden change of course.

Pelosi has not indicated any desire to soften her position on the size and scope of the bill, perhaps bolstered by public opinion polls showing Democrats in a stronger position than Republicans. Biden leads the RealClearPolitics average of national polls by 9.4 percentage points, with Democrats ahead on the generic congressional ballot by 6.6 points.

But McIntosh said Trump made the right move politically — at least as it concerns Senate Republicans, whose three-seat majority is hanging by a thread. McIntosh said that Club for Growth polling has revealed Republican voters in competitive Senate races would be less likely to support the GOP incumbent if he or she backs passage of another massive coronavirus stimulus.

Republican voters are opposed to sending more federal tax dollars to state and local governments, even under the guise of coronavirus aid. They believe Democratic-run states and cities are using the pandemic as an excuse to collect more federal tax dollars to finance out-of-control spending on liberal priorities. That view is shared by a majority of Senate Republicans.

“What happens if [Senate Republicans] do another bailout, is that it dampens Republican enthusiasm in all these battleground states,” McIntosh said.

Another Republican operative monitoring congressional races said there has been no backlash from voters to Trump playing hardball with Pelosi in the coronavirus talks. “It’ll just be more noise,” this GOP insider said. “Nobody who is considering Trump is going to be swayed. We haven’t heard anything on the ground.”