Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) told Todd Starnes' radio show Monday that he would seek to force a House roll-call vote on a potential fourth coronavirus stimulus package, calling his House colleagues "cowards" who "don't want to show up for work."
Why it matters: Massie drew bipartisan ire after a similar threat regarding last month's stimulus package forced hundreds of lawmakers to travel back to Washington in the midst of the pandemic.
- The House had hoped to approve the measure by voice vote to reduce the risk of exposure for members who would be forced to travel.
What he said:
"By calling them out on the Constitution and making them come to Washington, D.C., in order to pass a bill, they're finding it harder to pass this next bill because they know they're all going to have to come to work. They know I will get in my car and drive there and make them vote on it.
And my colleagues, a lot of them, frankly, are cowards. They are telling supermarket workers to go to work, they are telling the truckers to keep driving, yet they don't want to show up for work. So by forcing them to come to work on the third bill, I've forestalled at least for a moment the ridiculousness of the fourth bill that Nancy Pelosi has been talking about."
The big picture: Before Congress can move onto a fourth stimulus bill, it's still hammering out issues with the third bill — namely, fears that the $350 billion small business Paycheck Protection Program will soon run dry.
- Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin indicated the administration is open to working with Democrats on some of their proposals, sources said, despite growing frustration among Republicans who argue Democrats are holding small business funding hostage for programs that still have money in their accounts.
