Democrats Have the Leverage on Next Relief Bill

Michael Grunwald: “The news out of Washington this week made it sound like Democrats are playing hardball on economic relief, blocking a Republican bill that didn’t include their top priorities. But the Democrats aren’t really playing hardball. They have the power to demand just about anything they want, and they’re demanding things that President Trump wants, too.”

“Just two weeks after the largest economic relief bill in U.S. history failed to arrest the economic collapse, Trump needs another rescue package far more than Democrats do. The economy he loves to brag about has shed more than 16 million jobs. The stock market that he obsessively tweets about has plunged 20 percent. Trump doesn’t want to run for reelection during a full-blown depression, so he desperately needs more legislation.”

“That gives congressional Democrats extraordinary leverage to dictate the terms.”