Covid-19 relief bills show that Trump is a failure at negotiating – CNN

Washington, DC, is living on a knife's edge in anticipation of yet another Covid-19 relief package. While the $600 federal enhancement to weekly unemployment benefits and a federal eviction moratorium may lapse on July 31, leaving millions of Americans in the lurch, it's increasingly unlikely that an agreement will be reached before then.

It's hardly a surprise Senate Republicans are taking such a firm approach. They, like me, have experienced Trump's inability to constructively negotiate on behalf of the American people -- and they know they cannot afford another misfire from the White House so close to November.

As a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee and chairman of the Military Construction/Veterans Subcommittee from 2015 to 2018, I had an inside look at government dysfunction, which was especially pronounced after the tea party made sweeping gains in the 2010 midterm elections and a number of deficit hawks entered Congress with little to no desire to compromise.

Given this experience, it is hard for me to imagine how things could have gotten much worse. But they have. Sure, democracy can be messy and inefficient. Trump, however, has taken dysfunction to new heights with his disruptive, erratic behavior and chaotic approach to governing. While Trump can bluster his way through press briefings and make sweeping pronouncements on Twitter, he has repeatedly failed to negotiate and cobble together enough votes when it comes to legislating.

If you need proof, consider his failures on three high-profile occasions: his 2017 attempt to repeal and replace Obamacare; Trump's U-turn on spending in the 2018 Omnibus Appropriations Bill; and the 35-day government shutdown over border wall funding in late 2018 and early 2019.

Bottom line: Trump's failed leadership, his woeful disinterest and deficient knowledge in the basics of health care policy, along with his inability to unify Republicans around one coherent bill, meant the negotiations never had a chance.

I watched as House Speaker Paul Ryan and other legislative leaders made a Herculean and ultimately successful effort to persuade Trump to sign the bill he had originally agreed to. But how does one work with a man so fickle and so willing to undermine the subordinates he empowered to negotiate on his behalf?

Either way, don't hold your breath waiting for the author of "The Art of the Deal" to swoop in and save everyone from these swamp-infested negotiations.

See the original post:

Covid-19 relief bills show that Trump is a failure at negotiating - CNN