GOP lawmakers, Trump advisers broke ranks with the president after he decided to halt stimulus talks until after the election

• GOP lawmakers and Trump advisors condemned President Donald Trump after he tweeted that he told his team to halt stimulus package negotiations until after the election.
• GOP Sen. Susan Collins, of Maine, described it as a “huge mistake.”
• Rep. John Katko, a Republican from New York, tweeted Tuesday that he “disagree[s] with the President” and “strongly” urged him to “to rethink this move.”
• A Trump campaign adviser told Axios: “You have to try to be this politically inept. What is going on in the White House? Where is Mark Meadows?”
• Hours after tweeting that he was halting negotiations on a broad stimulus package, he called on lawmakers to pass standalone stimulus bills on several aspects of the stimulus bill.
• Unlike the Democrats’ broader package that they passed last week, Trump’s latest tweets made no mention of extended unemployment benefits, money for city and state governments, or other elements of the broader stimulus package.
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GOP lawmakers and Trump advisors condemned President Donald Trump’s decision to halt stimulus package negotiations until after the election.

Trump tweeted Tuesday that he told his team to end conversations surrounding the next coronavirus relief bill, accusing the Democrats of “not negotiating in good faith.”

“I have instructed my representatives to stop negotiating until after the election when, immediately after I win, we will pass a major Stimulus Bill that focuses on hardworking Americans and Small Business,” Trump wrote in the tweet.

He added that he asked Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell “not to delay, but to instead focus full time on approving my outstanding nominee to the United States Supreme Court, Amy Coney Barrett.”

Democrats slammed Trump’s decision, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has been heading stimulus bill talks with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin.

“Today, once again, President Trump showed his true colors: putting himself first at the expense of the country, with the full complicity of the GOP Members of Congress,” she said in a statement.

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden also issued a scathing statement aimed at Trump, saying “he never even really tried to get a deal for these Americans.”

“Make no mistake: if you are out of work, if your business is closed, if your child’s school is shut down, if you are seeing layoffs in your community, Donald Trump decided today that none of that — none of it — matters to him,” Biden said in a statement.

GOP Sen. Susan Collins also criticized Trump’s move, describing it as a “huge mistake.”

“When the pandemic began, Republicans and Democrats in Congress worked together successfully to take a quick, sweeping action — allocating nearly $3 trillion since March to respond to the crisis …,” Collins said in the statement.

“That’s the same approach we need to take now to continue to provide support for the health and safety of all Americans and the safe, responsible opening of our communities,” she added.

Rep. John Katko, a Republican from New York, tweeted Tuesday that he “disagree[s] with the President.”

“With lives at stake, we cannot afford to stop negotiations on a relief package,” he wrote. “The Problem Solvers Caucus has a proposal that both sides agreed on and can bring negotiators back to the table.”

“I strongly urge the President to rethink this move,” he continued.

Another unnamed GOP lawmaker described Trump’s move as a “gift” to Pelosi, Axios reported.

A Trump campaign adviser told Axios: “You have to try to be this politically inept. What is going on in the White House? Where is Mark Meadows?”

Hours after Trump called off negotiations between Mnuchin and Pelosi, Trump sent a series of tweets in which he appeared to backtrack on wanting to pass stimulus measures. He tweeted calling for standalone legislation to fund stimulus checks and aid to airlines and small businesses.

Unlike the Democrats’ broader package that they passed last week, Trump made no mention of extended unemployment benefits, money for city and state governments, or other elements of the broader stimulus package.