Pelosi Defends $3 Trillion Coronavirus Relief Bill
Budget

Pelosi Defends $3 Trillion Coronavirus Relief Bill

Reuters/Jonathan Ernst

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday defended the massive $3 trillion coronavirus relief package Democrats released Tuesday, telling the Associated Press that the pandemic “is the biggest disaster that our country has ever faced” and that “the American people are worth” the unprecedented cost of the new bill.

Pelosi acknowledged that the plan is a starting point for talks with the Trump administration and Senate Republicans, who have labeled the proposal as dead on arrival.

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said in a tweet Wednesday that the president “has been clear that any future coronavirus aid package must prioritize Americans’ health and the nation’s economic prosperity. House Democrats are once again using this crisis to play politics and push their partisan agenda.”

McEnany also called Pelosi’s bill “an unserious proposal written to appease her base” and charged that the legislation “is overflowing with spending unrelated to the coronavirus.”

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