President Trump wanted in June to spend more than $3 trillion on a new round of coronavirus relief after Congress had already passed the $2.2 trillion CARES Act measure to address the crisis, according to a new book by Bob Woodward of the Washington Post.
Trump, according to Woodward, told close ally Sen. Lindsey Graham “that he wanted to go higher than $3 trillion for the economic stimulus and recovery package,” the book claims.
“Don’t worry about the base,” Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, told Trump. “Nobody elected you as a fiscal conservative.”
A copy of the book, titled Rage, was obtained by the Washington Examiner. It will be released Sept. 15.
Graham warned Trump that the coronavirus outbreak could hamstring any efforts to draw voters to his side on Election Day.
Congress remains divided over the next measures for coronavirus relief, differing on acceptable costs.
Trump has pressed for Congress to pass measures like new direct payments or a suspension of the payroll tax, but negotiations have stalled over spending.
On Thursday, Democrats blocked a relief bill backed by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, introduced the pared-down bill on Tuesday. It split in half a July $1 trillion proposal by Republican leaders. The bill was opposed at the time by dozens of Republicans on the grounds that it was too costly.
Democratic leaders are pursuing a new package amounting to at least $2.2 trillion.
“Let’s not have a skinny bill when we have a massive problem,” House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi said during her weekly conference earlier on Thursday.
Congress has passed a total of nearly $3 trillion in aid since March.
