The delay in the aid package will further upset financial markets, says Mitch McConnell. The Senate failed to get the necessary 60 votes in the 100-member chamber to get the Republican plan over a procedural hurdle after days of negotiations, with 47 senators voting in favor and 47 opposed. Then Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, announced he would hold a repeat vote yesterday, only to be blocked by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer. In response, McConnell accused Democrats of "reckless behavior" that could further upset financial markets and delay much-needed aid to battle the Covid-19 outbreak. But Schumer called the Republican plan "a giant, giant corporate bailout fund.

Source: The Standard March 23, 2020 19:07 UTC