Republican Drama

This is my Stimulus Update for Wednesday, July 15th.

Tax Day

Yes, today is July 15th. That means it is tax day this year. So if you have not yet filed your 2019 income tax return, Form 1040, and you do not intend to do so, by midnight tonight, you need to file an extension or the IRS may hit you up with a late filing penalty.

I dropped a video, going step-by-step on my computer screen, a full walkthrough of how to get a free extension to file your tax return. You can do it from home.

Republican Drama

Now, let’s talk about stimulus. I want to kick it off by talking about Peter Navarro.

Who is Peter Navarro?

He is Trump’s Trade and Manufacturing Director, and he’s a China hawk, okay?

He got in a little bit of hot water recently in the White House because he was the guy who said in an interview on a Friday evening that wasn’t paid attention to by a lot of the mainstream media.

He said that Trump wanted $2 trillion in the next stimulus relief bill. Trump never said as much, and many in the White House said that Navarro spoke out of turn when he said that.

Well, it looks like Navarro is in a little bit of hot water again. And there’s a little bit more drama again within the White House among Republicans about Peter Navarro.

So what did Navarro do this time? Yesterday, Navarro wrote an op-ed that appeared in USA Today in which he sharply criticized Dr. Anthony Fauci.

I’m going to tell you what Navarro said, what other Republicans have said about Dr. Fauci, and how this could all relate to stimulus.

So what did Navarro say yesterday about Dr. Fauci? He said that Fauci was wrong about everything that he, Navarro, has interacted with him on.

He said, “When you ask whether I listen to Dr. Fauci’s advice, my answer is only with skepticism and caution.”

We know the Fauci is pretty conservative when it comes to reopening the economy again.

On this point, Navarro said, “Now Fauci says a falling mortality rate doesn’t matter, when it is the single most important statistic to help guide the pace of our economic reopening.

The lower the mortality rate, the faster and more we can open.” This would be expected coming from Trump’s Trade and Manufacturing Director.

Fauci is an infectious disease specialist. Navarro is an economist.

Navarro wants to see the economy open as quickly as possible. Heck, that’s part of his job description, as Trump’s Trade and Manufacturing Director.

Now what makes this whole thing interesting is what Navarro said contrasts with what other Republicans have recently said about Dr. Fauci.

For example, just this morning, Mitch McConnell was asked what his level of confidence is in Dr. Fauci.

McConnell said, “Total.” He said he has total confidence in Dr. Fauci.

Senator Lindsey Graham recently said that, “Fauci has been around for a long time. He’s one of the smartest people I know. Has he been right all the time? No, but we don’t have a Dr. Fauci problem. I have all the respect in the world for Dr. Fauci. I think any effort to undermine him is not going to be productive quite frankly.”

The White House Director of Strategic Communications, Alyssa Farah tweeted, “The Peter Navarro op-ed didn’t go through normal White House clearance processes and is the opinion of Peter alone. Donald Trump values the expertise of the medical professionals advising his Administration.”

So it looks like Navarro is going rogue again.

Effects of the Drama on Stimulus

Now how could this affect the next stimulus relief bill?

Well, it could mean that some Republicans believe that we might need more stimulus if they’re hinging on Fauci’s statements that the reopening happened too quickly in some states, and maybe we needed to slow things down.

On the other hand, if more Republicans align themselves with the Peter Navarro narrative, that could indicate less stimulus.

Because the belief then would be that the economy is going to open faster due to the lower mortality rate, despite the heightened number of cases.

It’s a little bit speculative, I know, but it’s something we should keep an eye on. Because the main narrative right now is, yes, what is Congress going to do?

But there’s kind of a subplot over here having to do with Fauci, and Navarro, and other Republicans, and that’s something to keep an eye on, because it will affect the main narrative, I believe.

Republicans on Next Stimulus Bill

Now that main narrative will kick into full gear next week, starting next Monday when the Senate is back in session.

McConnell said, “Once we get back into session next week, I’ll begin socializing, internalizing, if you will, discussions that I’ve had during this week off with my members.”

He said, “The new coronavirus package will be front and center. That will dominate our time starting next week.”

McConnell has said that the liability protections he’s been calling for some months now will be an any bill that passes the Senate.”

Another Republican focus, and Democratic focus, is getting kids back to school. Senator Lindsey Graham said in a press conference that he wants the feds to help absorb reopening costs for school districts.

Chuck Schumer on Next Stimulus Bill

Now Senate Minority Leader, Chuck Schumer, is not without his criticism.

He said, “There’s been zero outreach from McConnell,” and Schumer sees the Republican strategy as trying to sideline the House Democrats by writing a partisan bill in his office, just like he tried to do last time on CARES.

Well Schumer, come on now. Let’s be real here. The Democrat-controlled House, no, you’re not a part of it, but you’re very close friends with Nancy Pelosi.

They basically packaged together their HEROES Act without much Republican input.

But it does appear that the Republican proposal will be very much Republican proposal, and it won’t be until after they come up with it where those serious negotiations begin with the Democrats.

Schumer is also talking this week about getting rid of a $10,000 cap on the state and local itemized deduction on people’s tax returns. That was in the HEROES Act, and Schumer is reigniting that conversation in the Senate.

McConnell, we know, is not too thrilled with that idea. Now, I know most of you are not as interested in that conversation as you are in the conversation pertaining to stimulus checks and unemployment, but it’s part of the conversation, nevertheless.