15
Trump then became more willing to
push back on his medical advisers, say-
ing they want to “shut down the whole
world” and “you can’t do that.” The
President’s new emphasis served to un-
dermine the clear, consistent messaging
crucial in a public-health crisis. Nor is
the vacillation necessarily over. Trump’s
natural inclination is to ease restrictions
on commerce, a senior Administration
official noted, but “if information comes
back to him and doctors say there could
be severe physical harm,” he may be
open to extending limits on large gath-
erings. States are free to leave their own
restrictions in place or impose new
ones, and Trump may leave it to them to
take the lead, the official said. Yet some
will surely take their cues from the Pres-
ident if he relaxes the federal guidance.
“It’s a nightmare,” the Administra-
tion official says of the situation. “It’s a
freaking nightmare.” □In t he e arl y h ours of March 25,
the S enate a nd W hite H ouse
reached a l andmark deal on
a $ 2 t rillion r elief p ackage
for m illions o f A mericans
and b usinesses h urt by t he
coronavirus pandemic. The
bargain, agreed to after days of
nonstop n egotiations, p aves the
way for the largest aid package
in U .S. h istory. Lawmake rs were
still n egotiating d etails m idweek,
but e xpected t o v ote t he b ill
into l aw within days. “This is a
wart ime l ev el o f i nv estment i nto
our n ation,” s aid S enate m ajority
leader M itch M cConnell a fter
announcing t he d eal. H ere a re s ix
key p rovisions.DIRECT PAYMENTS TO
AMERICANS. A merican
taxpayers e arning up to $75,
will r eceive $ 1,200, a nd c ouples
earning up to $150,000 will
receive $ 2,400. B ey ond t hose
amounts, p ayments will decrease
for i ndividuals e arning up to
$99,000 a nd c ouples e arning
$198,000. C ongressional
aides s aid d etails were s till
coming t ogether, but t hat ev ery
child i n s ingle- a nd t wo-parent
households e arning less than
$198,000 w ill a lso r eceive a
$500 p ayment. It is unclear when
the p ayments will start.EXPANDED U NEMPLOYMENT
INSURANCE. The g overnment
will p rovide people who are
unemployed with a $600 weekly
stipend f or u p t o f our m onths, o n
top o f b enefits a lready p rovided
by s tates. T hese p ayments will go
to p eople w ho h ave been laid offor f url oughed, a nd t o o ut-of-work
members of the gig economy.$150 B ILLION F OR H EALT H
CARE. The d eal a llots
$150 b illion f or t he h ealth c are
system a nd h ospitals, w hich h ave
been s ounding t he a larm that
they w ill s oon e xceed c apacity
and a re a lready running low on
critical s upplies; $ 100 b illion w ill
go d irectly t o h ospitals, a nd t he
additional f unds w ill g o t owa rd
supplies, medical r esearch a nd
work force i ncreases.LOANS T O S MALL B USINESSES.
Lawmakers s ay they are
allocating a t l east $ 360 b illion
to h elp s mall b usinesses a nd
nonprofits. M uch o f t hat w ill g o
to b usinesses t o p ay workers,
mort gage i nterest a nd r ent.
Pennsylvania Senator Pat To omey
said b usinesses o f u p t o 5 00
employees are eligible for this
assistance.LOANS T O S TATE G OVERN-
MENTS A ND I NDUSTRIES. The
Treasury Department will create
a f und w ort h $ 500 b illion o r m ore
to a ssist l ocal a nd s tate g overn-
ments a nd i ndustries h it by t he
pandemic. A ccording t o To omey,
the Tr easury w ill a lso m ake
$46 b illion i n d irect fi nancial
assistance, i ncluding $ 25 b illion
to a irlines, $17 billion for national
security a nd $ 4 b illion f or c argo.OVERSIGHT O F C ORPORATE
USE O F F UNDS. Democrats
fought f or s tringent oversight
of t he Tr easury f und, a rguing
that Trump, Vice President Mike
Pence and Treasury Secretary
Stev en M nuchin c ould p ersonally
benefit f rom t he f unds w ithout
anyone knowing. T he G OP a greed
to a ppoint a n i nspector g eneral
to oversee t he f und, a nd a ny
businesses c ontrolled by Trump,
Pence, Mnuchin, or heads of
executive d epartments or their
spouses, i n-laws or offspring are
barred from receiving loans.
—Alana Abramson and
Philip E lliottWhat’s in the $2 trillion bailoutChuck Schumer
led negotiations
fo r Senate
Democrats ▷BRMEMO.indd 15 3/25/20 6:08 PM