House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday doubled down on her insistence that White House negotiators move their top-line numbers if there’s going to be any hope of reaching a comprehensive COVID-19 relief deal.
“We’re not budging,” she said. “They have to move. Why should there be a bill that has far less [than] what the public needs? They’re just going to have to come up with more money. … They’re coming in with an eyedropper.”
Democrats want Republicans to agree to middle ground figures between their $3.5 trillion proposal and the GOP’s $1 trillion plan.
Her comments come not long before the speaker is set to chat with White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows — who she referred to as “what’s-his-name” — Thursday afternoon.
Mrs. Pelosi said the talk is just a courtesy of returning Mr. Meadow’s call.
“That would be a very short conversation if they’re not ready to meet in the middle,” she said. “Hopefully, it isn’t.”
She also brushed off the chief of staff’s significance to the talks by saying that he wasn’t the “lead negotiator,” such as Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin — who worked on all the other COVID-19 spending deals that Congress passed earlier this year.
It would be the first time party negotiators discussed a larger bill since early August after talks broke down.
Mrs. Pelosi said the talks failed because Republicans wouldn’t agree to a larger price tag, while Mr. Mnuchin said it was because they couldn’t get Democrats to offer a meaningful proposal on state and local funding or enhanced unemployment insurance.
Mr. Meadows attempted to have a walk-in meeting with Mrs. Pelosi Saturday during the House’s vote on a Postal Service bill but was unable to get a hold of her.
The two sparred via the press that day as he called for a “skinny” package that would include post office funding along with small business loans and unemployment insurance. Mrs. Pelosi said that suggestion was “deficient” because it left out food security and school funding.
• Gabriella Muñoz can be reached at gmunoz@washingtontimes.com.
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