Democrats on Capitol Hill dashed Donald Trump’s hopes for a cut in payroll taxes to offset economic damage from the coronavirus crisis, as the White House launched testy talks over fiscal stimulus with members of Congress.
The early scepticism will cast doubt on Washington’s ability to rapidly coalesce around a large package to shield US economic growth from the epidemic.
On Monday night, Mr Trump said he would be proposing “very dramatic” measures to support the economy as early as Tuesday, but Democrats balked at one of his main ideas— a reduction in taxes paid by employers and workers on their salaries to fund government pensions and healthcare.