Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell tapped the brakes Tuesday on growing momentum for another coronavirus relief package, claiming he’ll only drop his most unpopular policy proposal if Democrats agree to give up their demand for budgetary bailouts for states.
McConnell, the top Republican on Capitol Hill, added the latest tit-for-tat to the harried stimulus talks after lunching with fellow GOP senators, some of whom have come out in support of a bipartisan $908 billion relief package that includes bailouts for cash-strapped states, including New York.
But in McConnell’s view, the budgetary aid should be cut because he claims the states’ leaders, not the pandemic, are to blame for the financial woes.
