United States Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) has adjourned the Senate until Nov. 9, ending any hope that the beleaguered airline industry – as well as millions of Americans – will see any help from a second stimulus package.
McConnell made the announcement Monday night after the Senate voted to confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett as the newest Supreme Court Justice. The move shuts down the Senate from doing any legislative business until almost a week after the Nov. 3 election, according to Business Insider.
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An agreement on an extension of the CARES Act has been difficult to reach due to partisan politics, but this move adds another two weeks to an airline industry that has already begun massive layoffs across the country.
While waiting for another stimulus, at least seven airlines took advantage of an offer for a loan from the Treasure Department.
David Popp, a representative for McConnell, told Business Insider there was “nothing to add” to what he described as McConnell’s “extensive remarks on the continued Democrat filibuster on COVID relief in the Senate.”
Alex Nguyen, a representative for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, referred Business Insider to a Saturday statement accusing Republicans of sidelining coronavirus talks while pushing forward with Barrett’s confirmation process ahead of the election.
“Today, we’re going to give the Republican majority in the Senate the opportunity to consider critical legislation that has so far languished in Leader McConnell’s legislative graveyard,” Schumer said in the statement, adding: “We should be doing that, not rushing through this nomination while people are voting, and want their choice listened to, not the Republican Senate choice.”
