Michael R. Strain, Columnist

Republicans Endanger the Economy by Forgetting Their Successes

The effectiveness of Congress’s March rescue plan seems to have undermined the perceived need for those efforts to continue.

October 7, 2020 at 7:00 PM UTC

By Michael R. Strain

Michael R. Strain is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He is director of economic policy studies and Arthur F. Burns Scholar in Political Economy at the American Enterprise Institute. He is the author of “The American Dream Is Not Dead: (But Populism Could Kill It).”

Not starving yet? There’s a reason.
Photographer: Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images

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President Donald Trump dealt his re-election prospects a damaging blow on Tuesday by abruptly ending talks between his administration and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on additional legislation to support the weak economy. Trump subsequently indicated a desire for some relief items, including support for airlines and direct payments to households. But after the president’s gyrations, the odds of more stimulus are very low.

Passing another round of fiscal-policy support following March’s $1.8 trillion Cares Act should not have been a heavy lift for Republicans in Congress, particularly in an election year when a strengthening economy would help incumbents. The great irony is that the success of Congress’s efforts to support the economy in this once-in-a-century crisis seems to have undermined the perceived need for those efforts to continue.