Former congressman Jason Chaffetz urged Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to use his power as the Republican Party’s leader in the upper chamber to force a vote on a new funding deal for the Paycheck Protection Program.
“The Paycheck Protection Program ran dry on Thursday and Democrats continue to block more funding,” McConnell said over the weekend. “Democrats must let us reopen this crucial program before more Americans are laid off needlessly and more small businesses are shuttered that could have survived.”
Chaffetz, a former Republican in the House and a current Fox News political analyst, called McConnell’s hesitation “C-R-A-P.”
“Huh? You are the Majority Leader of the United States Senate. Call the Senate into session and VOTE,” Chaffetz said. “You control the agenda. Put it up for a VOTE.”
Huh? You are the Majority Leader of the United States Senate. Call the Senate into session and VOTE. “Democrats must let us” is C-R-A-P. VOTE. You, @senatemajldr, control the agenda. Put it up for a VOTE. https://t.co/hZ2Y2b4giy
— Jason Chaffetz (@jasoninthehouse) April 18, 2020
Funding for the program, a nearly $350 billion effort allocating eight weeks of cash flow to qualifying small businesses so they can pay employees and avoid layoffs amid the coronavirus pandemic, has run dry.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has been lobbying Congress for an additional $250 billion to refill the fund, but Democrats blocked the measure.
Both Republicans and Democrats said Monday they are close to a deal, and a vote on the Paycheck Protection Program is expected as early as Tuesday.
