Congress leaves town without a coronavirus stimulus deal, allowing $600 unemployment benefit to end

WASHINGTON – A $600 weekly unemployment benefit that has helped millions of Americans stay afloat amid the coronavirus pandemic will officially end at midnight as Congress adjourned for the weekend without coming to any deal on the program or a larger emergency stimulus package.

The discussions over another package turned testy Friday as Democrats and Republicans each blamed the other for their inability to come to an agreement, leaving out-of-work Americans in limbo as the vital benefits come to a halt.

In dueling press conferences, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows laid into Democrats for rejecting a short-term deal to continue the bolstered unemployment benefit for one week, while House Speaker Nancy Pelosi railed against Republicans and the Trump administration for attempting to take a piecemeal approach to helping Americans as COVID-19 cases continue to surge nationally.