From Jonathan Bernstein:
The president’s party isn’t close to agreement on a new stimulus deal. That’s not good for anyone.
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has sent the Senate home for the weekend. That means, even as dismal economic news keeps mounting, there won’t be a last-minute deal to keep expanded unemployment insurance intact. It’s been hard all along to figure out what the Republican plan might be, and it’s getting harder.
To be sure, quite a few Republicans — maybe 20 in the Senate, according to reports, and many more in the House — seem to be comfortable with no deal at all. They appear to think that additional spending will hurt, not help, the economy, whether it’s aid to state and local governments (which the party is almost unified against) or additional benefits for the millions out of work. At least one Republican, Representative Roger Williams of Texas, apparently believes stimulus is irrelevant because, “with low interest, low taxes and cash in the system, the economy’s pretty good.” How that squares with the worst quarter since records began, along with signs that a tentative recovery has stalled, is a mystery. Others seem to understand that the virus-induced recession is real, but just don’t think the government can do much about it. In particular, they’re convinced that the reason for mass unemployment is expanded benefits, not the virus and a lengthening list of failed businesses.
That leaves McConnell, and the White House, in an extremely difficult bargaining position, made worse by their decision to wait until the last minute.