In a Monday interview on Fox News Channel’s “America’s Newsroom,” Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) weighed in on Democrats criticizing President Donald Trump for using his executive authority to pass coronavirus stimulus.
Cassidy took aim at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), saying she and Democratic leaders are using the “pain” of Americans amid the coronavirus pandemic to “leverage” the HEROES Act, which the Republican lawmaker noted “mentions marijuana more than it mentions jobs.”
“The American people are hurting,” Cassidy outlined. “Speaker Pelosi is using their pain to leverage her HEROES Act. Why do I say that? Republicans offered to continue the unemployment benefit while we continued to negotiate on every other issue. Mrs. Pelosi said no, let the unemployment run out knowing that would increase the pain hoping to leverage her HEROES Act. Heroes Act, by the way, mentions marijuana more than it mentions jobs. The president cares. He’s trying to get aid to the American people that Mrs. Pelosi wants to deny. I approve it because we’re about the American people.”
Cassidy said he hopes Trump’s executive order pushes Pelosi off of her position to get everything she wants.
“I think the real genius of this is to undermine Pelosi. She’s not going to let anything happen and let the cries of the American people move the action. Ideally, she quickly realizes she has to seriously negotiate; we’re able to replace his executive action with that which is enacted by Congress. In that case, every need is met,” he explained.
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