Domestic injections: how the coronavirus exacerbated the contradictions between Democrats and Republicans in the United States

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urged the White House to take more action to counter the spread of COVID-19 coronavirus. She stated this in an interview with MSNBC.

“Everyone is calling on the president for more drastic measures. This problem cannot be solved in parts. A comprehensive approach is needed. We do not even have full testing, ”said Pelosi.

According to the leader of the democratic majority in the lower house of Congress, US President Donald Trump should immediately use the 1950 Defense Act to increase production of vital medical equipment and personal protective equipment during a pandemic.

• Nancy Pelosi
• Reuters
• © Tom Brenner

Recall, the law on defense production was adopted in 1950 against the backdrop of the US Korean military campaign. The document gives the head of state the authority to reorient industrial enterprises in the country to produce products that are necessary in terms of national security. According to the document, the president may require companies to expand the output of the country's products and prohibit the practice of overpricing.

In addition, Nancy Pelosi noted the need for a new fourth package of measures to financially support the country's economy in connection with the coronavirus pandemic.

It is worth noting that Donald Trump promised on March 18 to use the law “On Defense Production” to stimulate the additional release of necessary medical products. And on March 27, the White House published a document in which the head of state reported on measures taken to combat the spread of coronavirus, citing the law on defense production and other regulations.

“In order to guarantee the ability of our healthcare system to rapidly build up the qualitative and quantitative potential to combat the spread of COVID-19 coronavirus infection, the United States is pursuing a policy aimed at expanding the domestic production of the necessary medical devices, including personal protective equipment and mechanical ventilation devices,” - the document says.

However, with regard to the adoption of a new package of economic measures, the Republican Party believes that for now, one should refrain from this step. As stated earlier by the leader of the Republican majority in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, the legislature should wait until now to understand whether additional steps should be taken in this direction.

Viral Championship

To date, in the United States, according to Johns Hopkins University, coronavirus has been diagnosed in more than 180 thousand people, of which more than 3.7 thousand died.

• Floating hospital in New York during the coronavirus epidemic
• Reuters
• © Brendan McDermid

The most difficult situation is in New York, where doctors are forced to deal with a pandemic in the face of a shortage of critical equipment and personal protective equipment.

Commenting on the United States' first place among the countries in the incidence of coronavirus, Donald Trump said that this happened due to active testing of people. The politician emphasized that more COVID-19 tests were done in his country than anywhere else.

Measures to combat the epidemic were taken by US authorities in mid-March. In an appeal to the nation, Trump announced the cancellation of all flights from Europe to the United States for 30 days. In addition, the American leadership has agreed with insurance companies to cover the costs of treatment for coronavirus. The U.S. administration has also taken steps to reduce bureaucratic barriers and make coronavirus treatment available.

According to Trump, $ 8.3 billion was allocated by the authorities to fight the virus and develop vaccines and drugs. In addition, authorities approved three packages of financial measures to support the national economy in connection with the coronavirus pandemic.

Despite the emergency, the legislators failed to adopt the third package of assistance not the first time. The opinions of Republicans and Democrats in the Senate on the necessary volume and purpose of appropriations diverged. From the Republican point of view, the emphasis should be on supporting companies that provide jobs to citizens, while Democrats insisted on reorienting financial flows to help ordinary Americans.

As a result, lawmakers and the White House reached a compromise, but this was preceded by a fierce dispute at the inter-party level.

Priority Question

Now representatives of the Democratic Party insist on the need for new measures to support the economy and the population.

As Vladimir Vasiliev, the chief researcher at the US and Canada Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, noted in an interview with RT, since the third, largest package of financial assistance in the amount of $ 2 trillion did not include all the requirements and proposals of the Democratic Party, Nancy Pelosi wants now to achieve the adoption of a new package of measures, in which will show the priorities of the democrats.

“Noah, even according to the appropriations that the Republicans and Democrats managed to agree on, the discrepancies have already begun. Not all expense columns are clearly spelled out in the law; now, friction between parties on how best to distribute funds is beginning to begin. Democrats have their own priorities, and Republicans have their own, one of these industries is the production of shale oil. Plus, Trump will now try to channel funds to those industries and states on which the outcome of the presidential election depends most of all, ”the expert said.

• Capitol Building
• AFP
• © Alex Edelman

According to Konstantin Blokhin, a leading researcher at the Center for Security Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Nancy Pelosi’s criticism of Trump hides both the usual anxiety about the fate of the country and the desire to show voters that Democrats care about the population.

“Undoubtedly, the Democrats would like to show the Americans that Trump is not doing everything possible to combat the epidemic. Objectively, the danger to the United States is now very great, America is at war with the virus. Both Republicans and Democrats are trying to do something to fight the pandemic. And in the event that the situation worsens, the contradictions between politicians will also grow, ”the expert said in an interview with RT.

A similar point of view is shared by Vladimir Vasiliev. According to the expert, the coronavirus pandemic has already become the subject of political controversy between Republicans and Democrats in the United States.

• Donald trump
• Reuters
• © Tom Brenner

“Nancy Pelosi wants to show that the Donald Trump administration was not ready for a pandemic, and the Democrats, on the contrary, are thinking about the good of ordinary Americans. Moreover, the Republicans really focused on business assistance programs, while the Democrats talk more about the support of ordinary citizens, ”said the expert.

According to Vasiliev, Pelosi is now trying to formulate a state action program in the context of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, which the Democratic Party candidate will be able to subscribe to in the upcoming presidential elections. If you look at the situation in the context of the election campaign, which has not yet been officially rescheduled, then Donald Trump is in a better position because he speaks daily on the topic of coronavirus, while his potential rival Joe Biden was forced to stop the election rallies.

“In general, the coronavirus pandemic exposed new contradictions between the leading parties, which will continue to be present in the US political field,” Vasilyev summed up.