A new coronavirus stimulus package is not expected before January, despite Biden’s election victory. Trump, who called for a major relief bill to be passed before the election, now has little incentive to approve a deal in his remaining weeks in office.
Democratic and Republican lawmakers continued their opposing positions on Friday as Biden inched toward his win. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell pointed to falling unemployment as reason for a “highly targeted”, slimmed down relief bill. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rejected the idea as Democrats may wait until potential wins in two Senate runoffs in Georgia in January clear the way for Pelosi to approve their own, more robust relief plan.
MORE ON THE PANDEMIC
Over the weekend, the world saw a record number of infections, as confirmed cases swelled to 50 million. On Saturday, the U.S. hit its highest daily case number since the pandemic began, with more than 126,000 new case in one day. According to data from Johns Hopkins University, it marked the fourth day in a row that new infections totaled more than 100,000.
The U.S. infection case count exceeds 9.8 million. Over 1,000 people died on Saturday from the virus, bringing the nationwide death toll to 237,113.
The Internal Revenue Service says eligible Americans who have yet to register with the agency to receive the Covid-19 stimulus check have until November 21 to do so. College students and low-income adults may be among those who qualify for the money but haven’t yet received a relief payment. Go to irs.gov to register and find out more on eligibility. [READ MORE]
Just days after being declared the winner in the election, President-elect Joe Biden plans to announce a 12-person coronavirus task force today.
According to a CNN source, the task force will be headed by three co-chairs: Former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner David Kessler and Yale University’s Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith.
Biden’s announcement of the task force highlights the priority he intends to place on stopping the spread of the pandemic.
White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, top campaign aide Nick Trainer, and at least three additional staffers within Trump’s inner circle have tested positive for coronavirus, becoming the latest officials to be infected with the virus after an outbreak in the administration.
According to a report by CNN, staffers within the administration, most of whom do not wear masks, say the campaign never informed staff of the positive cases or advised them to quarantine.
