Republicans Are “Split “

McConnell says he supports Trump “exploring his options” on executive action to bring Americans relief.

But top GOP Sen. Lamar Alexander, the chairman of Health, Ed, Labor & Pensions committee, said while Potus is doing all he can, “Congress is the one who should be acting.”

— Lisa Mascaro (@LisaMascaro) August 8, 2020

And Trump is ineffectual.

Here's the relevant part of the president's memorandum. To get the money, states must 1) request it; 2) match 25%; and 3) administer the program.

And all that leaves aside the very interesting question of whether giving people $400 complies with the Stafford Act. pic.twitter.com/bbpaAErrVU

— Brad Heath (@bradheath) August 9, 2020

To recap:

1/ Evictions: No eviction moratorium or new rental $, asks HUD to "consider" if evictions should stop

2/ Unemployment: Uses $44B from FEMA to cover $300/week benefit for ~5 more weeks

3/ Taxes: Option to defer payroll tax payment, but w/o new law they'll still be due

— Jeff Stein (@JStein_WaPo) August 9, 2020

As The Lincoln Project put it:

🤡 This defunds Medicare.
🤡 This defunds Social Security.
🤡 Tax collection is just deferred.
🤡 You’ll still owe these taxes next year. https://t.co/sraSTbHOxs

— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) August 9, 2020

So much winning!