White House backs McConnell on liability protections in relief bill after reports Republicans were divided

Meadows’s assurance comes on the heels of reports saying that the administration was willing to cut a deal with Democrats to drop the liability protections.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany on Friday added to the belief that the administration was willing to leave liability protections on the cutting-room floor when she suggested to reporters that President Trump was more focused on extending unemployment benefits in the next relief bill than creating a liability shield.

“This president is very keenly focused on unemployment insurance,” she told reporters, adding that the question about liability protections should be aimed at McConnell, a Kentucky Republican.

“That’s a question for Mitch McConnell. He said that that’s going to be a part of any bill. But that’s Mitch McConnell’s. That’s his priority,” she said.

McConnell released a bill on Monday that provides businesses, schools, and other institutions with protections from coronavirus lawsuits by requiring plaintiffs to prove gross negligence or willful misconduct on the part of an establishment failing to protect people from the virus. The bill also includes a fine of up to $50,000 for plaintiffs who make meritless claims.

Liability protections are a non-starter for many Democrats. In the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, said she opposes the idea because it leaves workers vulnerable because they cannot sue their employers if they become sick from the virus.

“What they’re saying to essential workers: ‘You have to go to work because you’re essential. We’ve placed no responsibility on your employer to make that workplace safe,’” she told CBS’s Face the Nation Sunday, adding that “if you get sick, you have no recourse because we’ve given the employer protection.”