The Democrats, led by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), pulled an eleventh hour political move Sunday night, voting to pull a massive coronavirus recovery package after spending days negotiating with Republicans and top administration officials, in order to produce their own hastily constructed stimulus bill packed with handouts to Democratic constituencies.
The move angered Americans who are desperate to find some solace in social and economic quarantine and incensed Senate Republicans who spent days at the bargaining table with prominent Democrats, like Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), under the impression they were hammering out a mutually acceptable, bipartisan stimulus package that could get money to individual Americans quickly while preserving some funds for businesses that could suffer long-term financial harm.
Pelosi, who had been on recess, sheltering in her home district, returned to Washington, D.C., Sunday night and upended the process, ordering Senate Democrats to restrict voting, kill the bill, and make way for a second stimulus package, which will hit the House floor at 2pm EST Monday.