Barrasso: Pelosi Doesn’t Want Coronavirus Stimulus Package Deal

"I don't believe Nancy Pelosi actually wants a deal," he said. "I wish she did. I think she views this as something that would give the president something of a victory prior to the election and she won't do it."

EF
Ellen Fike

October 07, 20203 min read

Barrasso 10 7 20

It’s been a rough few weeks in Congress, as discussions have gone back and forth about a second coronavirus stimulus package.

Part of the roadblock, said U.S. Sen. John Barrasso, stems from the fact House Speaker Nancy Pelosi does not want a stimulus package, but instead wants to make President Donald Trump look bad.

“I don’t believe Nancy Pelosi actually wants a deal,” he said during a Wednesday appearance on CNN. “I wish she did. I think she views this as something that would give the president something of a victory prior to the election and she won’t do it.”

Barrasso has been regularly making media appearances to discuss the stimulus package and was a guest on CNN with John King on Wednesday.

Although President Donald Trump said earlier this week that he was halting talks about the stimulus package until after the presidential election next month, he tweeted early Wednesday that he would sign a bill for standalone stimulus checks for $1,200, tagging Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi in a retweet of the message.

Barrasso said that he has read the Democrats’ proposed stimulus package and called it a “ransom note,” saying Pelosi wanted to send money to states that have been poorly run for years and provide tax breaks for “millionaires in New York and California.”

He reiterated his point, as he has said in multiple interviews, that the stimulus package should be focused on getting the American people back to work, getting children back in school and “getting the virus behind us.”

Barrasso also called the House version of the stimulus bill a “liberal wish list” in his discussion with King.

The senator also touched on Wednesday’s vice presidential debate featuring Vice President Mike Pence and U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris.

While Barrasso said he personally likes Harris, her voting record was the “most liberal” in the U.S. Senate, even more so than U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders.

“I mean, she applauds defunding the police, the things that she has supported in terms of the Green New Deal would be a terrible blow to our economy,” he said. “This is going to be the most consequential vice presidential debate since they started doing these in 1976.”

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Ellen Fike

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