- Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Tuesday he could support an extension of the $600 unemployment benefit — if Trump supports it.
- At a weekly GOP press conference, McConnell said he could back a negotiated stimulus package containing the federal benefit.
- “We know this is going to be a negotiated settlement… but the American people in the end need help,” he said.
- However, Trump opposed extending the federal payout in May, and the GOP favors cutting benefits and implementing a 70% wage replacement program.
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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Tuesday that he could support an extension of the $600 federal unemployment insurance boost — if President Donald Trump ends up backing it.
At his weekly Senate Republican leadership press conference, McConnell was asked about Speaker Nancy Pelosi appearing to draw a red line on the $600 federal supplement and whether he could support a negotiated spending package containing it.
“Wherever this thing settles between the president of the United States and his team, who has to sign it into law, and the Democrat, not insignificant minority in the Senate and majority in the House, is something I’m prepared to support,” McConnell told reporters. “Even if I have some problems with certain parts of it.”
The Kentucky senator added many Republicans would likely not vote for the final stimulus legislation if it extended the measure, which has drawn fierce GOP criticism for months.
“We know this is going to be a negotiated settlement,” McConnell said. “It’s not going to produce a kumbaya moment like we had back in March in April where everybody voted aye. But the American people in the end need help.”
The comments mark a shift in McConnell’s position towards the enhanced unemployment benefit as he’s expressed opposition in the past. Federal unemployment insurance forms one of the biggest rifts in ongoing stimulus negotiations between top congressional Democrats and the White House.
Trump, though, does not support extending the initiative and it’s unclear if his position will change as talks stretch into their second week with few signs of progress.
Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer are spearheading the discussions on the Democratic side while Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows are taking the lead for the Trump administration.
Republicans have long criticized the program, saying it allows many workers to earn more from the government than they would on the job. Last week, the GOP rolled out a plan cutting the benefit to $200 for two months and transitioning it onto a 70% wage replacement scheme starting in October.
The $600 federal supplement onto state unemployment checks was enacted in March under the Cares Act. But it expired on July 31 and Congress has intensely debated the amount it should be replaced with. Senate Republicans are still deeply divided on their proposal, which they unveiled four days before the enhanced payments ended.
Democrats are pushing to extend the $600 payouts through January, arguing the economy remains weak with scarce jobs available for unemployed people. Over 30 million people are drawing unemployment benefits.
