Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer Monday called on "saner voices in the Republican Party" to prevail in negotiations on the next phase of coronavirus relief after President Donald Trump signed executive orders over the weekend when Congress did not come to an agreement on a bill.
“I hope saner voices in the Republican Party will prevail and say, 'Sit down with [House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi and sit down with Schumer,'” the New York Democrat said on MSNBC's' "Morning Joe." "They have to meet us in the middle. They just can't come to the table and say, 'It's my way or the highway.'"
He added that many Republicans have been waiting for Trump's executive orders but he hopes that now that the details are out, they'll return to the table and reach a deal.
Trump signed orders that defer payroll taxes through the end of the year for people earning less than $100,000 a year, deferred student loan payments, discouraged evictions, and extended unemployment benefit enhancements at $400 a week, down from the $600 a week that went into effect in June. Democrats complained that the actions were not legal and did not offer enough help while putting pressure on states.
Schumer also called the president's claims that he's been talking to Democrats about a new bill "fables from Donald Trump ... we didn't call him. He makes these things up. I have seen zero evidence he's involved."
He added that last Thursday, he and Pelosi called for both sides to meet in the middle at $2 trillion for coronavirus aid, but it did not work.
"Here's what I think might happen," said Schumer. "This is an optimistic scenario. The Republicans are in a pickle. You have 20 of them who don't want any money whatsoever and then you have 10 or 15, some running for reelection, desperate to get a package. They're all hanging their hats on this executive order."
He also accused Trump and top Republicans of having "no respect" for Americans after allowing the enhanced unemployment benefits to lapse.
After Schumer's appearance, Trump tweeted that it was "amazing" that Schumer and Pelosi want a deal now, because for the past four weeks, they have been "hardliners" who only wanted bailouts for Democrat-run states and cities.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.