McConnell warns coronavirus stimulus bill could be delayed for days

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) warned on Monday that a massive coronavirus stimulus package could be delayed for days unless every senator agrees to speed it up. 

McConnell’s comments come after Senate Democrats blocked the coronavirus package on a key procedural hurdle for a second time. McConnell did not vote against the package — a procedural move that would have allowed him to bring it back up quickly. 

“We have put the Senate in the following position: If any one of the 100 of us choose to object, we can’t deal with this until Friday or Saturday at the earliest,” McConnell said.

McConnell, if he wants to bring the bill back up, will have to go through procedural hoops that will eat up days of floor time. He could speed the process up, but would need consent from every senator. 

Both Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin have said they think they could get a deal on Monday, after four days of negotiations have failed to break the stalemate. 

Schumer said that if they are able to reach a bipartisan deal, Democrats would let the bill be sped up so that a vote could occur quickly. 

“Once we have an agreement that everyone can get behind, we’re prepared to speed up the consideration of that agreement on the floor,” he said. 

As of Monday, both sides were still working through multiple sticking points, some of which are unrelated to the coronavirus. Republicans say Democrats are trying to stick in energy provisions, while Democrats say Republicans are trying to reauthorize an abstinence education program.