McConnell rejects Dem demand for big Covid relief package, stands by push for 'highly targeted' bill

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Thursday continued to reject the call from Democrats for a big coronavirus stimulus package, saying, "that's not a place I think we're willing to go" and reiterated his push for a bill that's "highly targeted at what the residual problems are."

McConnell said of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Chuck Schumer, "I gather she and the Democratic leader in the Senate still are looking at something dramatically larger. That's not a place I think we're willing to go."
Pelosi and Schumer signaled during a news conference earlier on Thursday they're not willing to change their call for a large coronavirus package even as efforts to negotiate remain stalled. The Democratic leaders instead argued that the result of the presidential election was a mandate for Joe Biden, which in turn strengthens their position in an effort to get a Covid package in the lame duck session.