Democratic leaders scoff at emerging GOP coronavirus aid plan, promise it won't pass

WASHINGTON — Democratic leaders on Thursday panned the emerging Republican package for coronavirus relief, calling it an "unserious" proposal that won't pass Congress.

"What we have seen so far falls very short of the challenge that we face in order to defeat the virus, and in order to open our schools and open our economy," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said on Thursday. "We have to act. And what they're proposing falls far short."

Senate Republicans reached a tentative agreement with the White House on Wednesday for a proposal expected to cost $1 trillion that will include $105 billion for schools, $16 billion for testing and a new round of direct payments to individuals. Millions of Americans will see their unemployment benefits decrease if Congress can't find a way to extend the boosted payments by the end of the week.

Trump appeared to concede on Thursday that he won't get one of his top priorities, a reduction in the payroll tax, which had lacked the needed support even in his own party. He took to Twitter to criticize Democrats and his own party for not including the tax reduction.