Remember impeachment? Me either.

On Jan. 21, senators gathered in their chamber on Capitol Hill to formally begin the impeachment trial for President Donald Trump. For hours on end, they were unable to leave their seats let alone check their electronic devices or speak with staff. Consumed with listening to hours-long arguments, they paid little attention to much else other than the trial.Then, three days later, in a private briefing, Trump administration officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the State Department told a group of senators that they were growing increasingly concerned about a virus spreading throughout China. The administration first learned of the outbreak Jan. 3, officials have now said. But by the time they convened with lawmakers for the briefing, the novel coronavirus had killed 41 people and infected more than 1,200.According to two individuals with knowledge of the briefing, officials stressed to senators that the coronavirus was contagious, deadly, and would eventually spread beyond China’s borders to the U.S., at which point it would pose serious challenges for the political system and the economy.“It was clear that there would be significant economic effects,” an individual with knowledge of the all-senators briefing said, adding that during the briefing lawmakers pressed for the administration to come up with a plan to handle the economic fallout.The briefing served as a wake-up call for senators who were at the time engrossed in the impeachment trial, spending eight hours a day stuck on the Senate floor for historic and weighty constitutional arguments and even more time off the floor strategizing about the president’s trial.“For a lot of people it was like, ‘why am I being asked to go to this thing?” said one Senate aide. “It was an insane time.”The briefing was hosted by the Senate Health Committee. Afterwards, some members began to sound the alarm more about the spread of the virus. Others insisted that fears were overblown. And at least two—North Carolina’s Richard Burr and Georgia’s Kelly Loeffler—began selling hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars worth of equities. Sen. Kelly Loeffler Dumped Millions in Stock After Coronavirus BriefingThe sales of between $1.2 million and $3.1 million in stocks jointly owned by Loeffler and her husband began the very day of the briefing, The Daily Beast first reported Thursday. On Friday, she insisted that the trades were entirely the work of a third party investment advisor with whom she shared no information and had no conversations about the transactions. Loeffler’s husband is Jeffrey Sprecher, the chairman of the New York Stock Exchange.Burr acknowledged individually selling between $600,000 and $1.7 million in mid-February, but said the sales were prompted purely by public news reporting on the coronavirus, not by nonpublic information gleaned through his official duties.Sources who spoke with The Daily Beast about the Jan. 24 briefing, and other congressional briefings over the last six weeks, said it was clear from what the administration officials said about the coronavirus that the U.S. would suffer financially, especially if there was community spread.“There was a general sense conveyed of a rising crisis and uncertainty that might lead to someone wanting to sell everything,” one person with knowledge of the conversations in the briefing told The Daily Beast.Another individual with knowledge of the Senate-wide briefings said administration officials spoke with senators about how the coronavirus could potentially limit things like cargo shipments and severely restrict essential supply chains. Some aides told The Daily Beast that in other early closed-door briefings, the administration was not providing much information that had not been made public at the time through news reporting. Still, many on Capitol Hill feel that having those briefings—some of which were unclassified—in the open would have armed the public with the same information, coming directly from U.S. public health officials, that lawmakers were benefiting from at the time.  Since the senators’ stock trading was reported on Thursday, Democrats have been swift with condemnation. More notable, however, has been the blowback from the right. On Thursday night, Fox News’ Tucker Carlson called for Burr’s resignation, calling his action a “moral crime.” On Friday morning, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), a staunch ally of the president’s, tweeted that “‘Stock Selloff Senators’ isn’t exactly the most AmericaFirst caucus to be forming in this time of crisis.” Fox News Grills Sen. Kelly Loeffler on Her Stock Dump: How Was This Not Insider Trading?Even Burr’s fellow North Carolina Republican in the Senate—Sen. Thom Tillis, who faces a tough re-election fight this fall—tweeted on Friday that Burr “owes North Carolinians an explanation” and supported a “professional and bipartisan” inquiry into the matter. In a press briefing Friday morning, President Trump told reporters that lawmakers who had been singled out for their sell offs, including Burr and Loeffler, were “all honorable people.”“They say they did nothing wrong,” Trump said. But in a possible bid to get out in front of the backlash, Burr announced that he’d spoken with the GOP chairman of the Senate Ethics Committee, Sen. James Lankford (R-OK), and asked him to open a “full review” of his trading activity. Loeffler told CNBC on Friday afternoon that she’d submit to an Ethics review, too. But it’s unclear when a review by the notoriously secretive Ethics panel will begin, or when it would end.The political ramifications of that probe are more acute for Loeffler than for Burr. The third-term North Carolina senator said his term, which expires in 2022, will be his last. Loeffler, who is expected to use a chunk of her estimated $500 million fortune to win the November special election for the seat she was appointed to on Jan. 6, has been constantly pummeled from both her right and her left over the trading news.“People are losing their jobs, their businesses, their retirements, and even their lives and Kelly Loeffler is profiting off their pain?” asked Loeffler’s primary opponent, Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA), on Twitter. “I'm sickened just thinking about it.” A Collins ally, the GOP Speaker of Georgia’s House, openly fretted on Friday about broader fallout, telling the Atlanta Journal Constitution that “a lot of people are going to associate these activities with some very fine candidates running for the Georgia House and are going to hold that against us.”Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

(Bloomberg) -- Michael Bloomberg said Friday he is transferring $18 million to the Democratic National Committee from his presidential campaign and turning over several of his field offices to state parties in an effort to help Democrats defeat President Donald Trump.Previously, Bloomberg had said even if he wasn’t the nominee, he was willing to spend a lot of money -- but “hopefully not” as much as $1 billion -- to keep staff and offices in six battleground states to help any Democratic nominee defeat Trump and elect other Democrats. His campaign had explored doing that forming an outside group that would not be able to coordinate with a candidate or the national party.But the former New York mayor’s campaign said today because of the need to coordinate efforts and the dynamics of the race changing with Joe Biden in control, he’s giving $18 million to the DNC’s coordinated campaign and transferring leases from several campaign offices to state Democratic parties. A list of “hundreds” of staff members will be given to the DNC with the expectation and hope they would be hired, a campaign aide said.(Disclaimer: Michael Bloomberg, the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, also sought the Democratic presidential nomination. He endorsed Joe Biden on March 4.)Staff in the six battleground states are being notified they will be paid through the first week in April and have full benefits through the end of April, the campaign said.“While we considered creating our own independent entity to support the nominee and hold the president accountable, this race is too important to have many competing groups with good intentions but that are not coordinated and united in strategy and execution,” Bloomberg’s campaign said in a memo to DNC Chairman Tom Perez. “We therefore believe the best thing we can all do over the next eight months is to help the group that matters most in this fight: the Democratic National Committee.”Bloomberg had pledged a robust effort during the campaign and after he left the race and endorsed Biden.“I will not walk away from the most important political fight of my life, and I hope you won’t walk away either,” Bloomberg said in an emotional speech to campaign staff and supporters on March 4, the day after a disappointing showing in Super Tuesday races prompted him to end his Democratic presidential campaign.Bloomberg’s donation will support the DNC’s “Battleground Build-Up 2020” program and continue organizing in key states, funding hundreds of organizers, according to a Democratic official.“This will help us invest in more organizers across the country to elect the next president and help Democrats win up and down the ballot,” Perez said in a statement.Democrats need to compete with “the war chest” that Trump, the Republican National Committee and their allies have amassed, and Bloomberg’s “extraordinary investment” will help ensure that needed grassroots efforts in key states will be funded, Kate Bedingfield, Biden’s deputy campaign manager, said in a statement.The Trump campaign, the Republican National Committee and supporting entities said they had $225 million in the bank at the end of February, according to a statement from the campaign.Besides the the donation to the DNC and transferring of offices to state parties, Bloomberg also plans to continue spending money separately to defeat Trump, but there’s no firm amount and details are still being discussed, the campaign aide said.The former New York mayor has continued spending on the race since ending his campaign, including a $2 million donation to Collective Future to register 500,000 black voters in key states plus $500,000 for Voto Latino to register new voters. He also announced a $2 million donation to Swing Left to help Democrats in competitive races.He also pledged to spend $15 Million to $20 million to register voters in five battleground states and $10 million to help protect House Democrats targeted by Republicans for their support of impeachment proceedings against Trump. He gave $5 million in December to Fair Fight 2020, the group Democrat Stacey Abrams founded in Georgia to encourage voter-registration and oppose voter-suppression measures.Bloomberg had spent a record $687 million of his own money on the race when he dropped out. His campaign said $275 million of Bloomberg’s media blitz was focused against Trump, and it’s making all ads available to the public to download and share on their networks.“By supporting the Democratic Party, we look forward to November and taking on our unified goal of beating Donald Trump,” the campaign said in its memo to the DNC.(Updates with comment from Biden campaign from 11th paragraph.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

The former White House intern whose affair with then-President Bill Clinton led to his impeachment doesn't approve of the current White House occupant's handling of the coronavirus crisis.

And Monica Lewinsky gave her 750,000 Twitter followers an idea for sharing that disapproval.

Ms. Lewinsky, whose recent public persona has been ...

The Brooklyn Democrat Hakeem Jeffries does not believe that President Trump is fully committed to criminal justice. "It's clear to me that President Trump is authentically committed to President Trump, and beyond that it's hard to tell," Jeffries, D-N.Y., told Yahoo News in a sit-down interview. Jeffries was one of the seven impeachment managers leading the impeachment trial against the president and questions how committed the White House is to reform.

The Senate’s newest member sold off seven figures’ worth of stock holdings in the days and weeks after a private, all-senators meeting on the novel coronavirus that subsequently hammered U.S. equities.Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) reported the first sale of stock jointly owned by her and her husband on Jan. 24, the very day that her committee, the Senate Health Committee, hosted a private, all-senators briefing from administration officials, including the CDC director and Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, on the coronavirus. “Appreciate today’s briefing from the President’s top health officials on the novel coronavirus outbreak,” she tweeted about the briefing at the time.That first transaction was a sale of stock in the company Resideo Technologies valued at between $50,001 and $100,000. The company’s stock price has fallen by more than half since then, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average overall has shed approximately 10,000 points, dropping about a third of its value.It was the first of 29 stock transactions that Loeffler and her husband made through mid-February, all but two of which were sales. One of Loeffler’s two purchases was stock worth between $100,000 and $250,000 in Citrix, a technology company that offers teleworking software and which has seen a small bump in its stock price since Loeffler bought in as a result of coronavirus-induced market turmoil.Loeffler’s office did not respond to a request for comment from The Daily Beast on the transactions and whether they were prompted or informed by information shared at that late January briefing. It’s illegal for members of Congress to trade on non-public information gleaned through their official duties. Late Thursday night, she did offer a statement, tweeting: “This is a ridiculous and baseless attack. I do not make investment decisions for my portfolio. Investment decisions are made by multiple third-party advisors without my or my husband’s knowledge or involvement.“As confirmed in the periodic transaction report to Senate Ethics, I was informed of these purchases and sales on February 16, 2020—three weeks after they were made.”In the weeks after her spate of stock trades, Loeffler sought to downplay the public-health and financial threats posed by the coronavirus. “Democrats have dangerously and intentionally misled the American people on Coronavirus readiness,” she tweeted on Feb. 28. “Here’s the truth: @realDonaldTrump & his administration are doing a great job working to keep Americans healthy & safe.”“Concerned about coronavirus?” she tweeted on March 10. “Remember this: The consumer is strong, the economy is strong, & jobs are growing, which puts us in the best economic position to tackle COVID19 & keep Americans safe.”Loeffler is the second known senator to sell off large stock holdings between that Jan. 24 briefing and the dramatic drop in stock-market indices over the last week. The Center for Responsive Politics reported on Thursday that Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC), who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, sold between $500,000 and $1.5 million in stock in February, shortly before markets tanked—and before Burr privately warned of the havoc that coronavirus was poised to wreak.Burr lashed out at National Public Radio on Thursday over its report revealing those private comments in a series of tweets that did not mention his stock trades. Burr was one of just one of three senators who voted against legislation in 2012 banning so-called congressional insider trading.As it happens, Burr and Loeffler sat next to each other on the Senate floor during the chamber’s impeachment trial in January.Loeffler assumed office on Jan. 6 after having been appointed to the seat vacated by retiring Sen. Johnny Isakson. Between then and Jan. 23, she did not report a single stock transaction from accounts owned by her individually or by her and her husband jointly.Between Jan. 24 and Feb. 14, by contrast, Loeffler reported selling stock jointly owned with her husband worth between $1,275,000 and $3,100,000, according to transaction reports filed with Senate ethics officials. On Feb. 14, she also purchased the Citrix stock and another $100,000 to $250,000 in technology company Oracle, which has seen its share price decline by more than 18 percent since then.The 15 stocks that Loeffler reported selling have lost more than a third of their value, on average, since she reported offloading them. She initially reported many of the transactions as sales of stock owned by her husband. Last week she amended the filing to note that most of them were jointly owned.The full scope of Loeffler’s portfolio and its particular holdings is not yet known. Senators are required to regularly disclose that information, but in January she requested an extension from Senate ethics officials. A full accounting of her finances will not be public until May.When Loeffler assumed office, she immediately became the wealthiest member of Congress. The Atlanta businesswoman, whose husband is the chairman and CEO of the New York Stock Exchange, has a fortune estimated at $500 million.From the beginning of her tenure, she has faced scrutiny over potential conflicts of interest. Her position on a Senate subcommittee that oversees futures markets “gives Kelly Loeffler a direct position in overseeing her and her husband’s financial enterprises,” Craig Holman, lobbyist for the ethics group Public Citizen, told the Atlanta Journal Constitution in February. “I find it utterly irresponsible the Senate would choose to put Loeffler on that committee, given her conflicts of interest.” Unlike other senators, Loeffler’s finances are directly tied to her electoral fate. She has pledged to spend $20 million on her bid to hold on to her seat when she faces voters for the first time this November. For more exclusive stories, sharp analysis, and insider interviews, become a Beast Inside member here.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell introduced the text of the Republicans’ trillion-dollar proposal for the so-called “Phase 3” coronavirus stimulus package, paving the way for negotiations with Democrats to formally begin.

The centerpiece of the Senate Republican proposal — crafted with support from the White House — is a direct payment to qualified Americans of up to $1,200. Married couples could get $2,400. Taxpayers who earn more than $75,000 annually will begin to see that payment reduced by $5 for every $100 they earn over the $75,000 threshold, with those who make more than $99,000 getting nothing. Families with children would get $500 per child.

While a Treasury Department outline circulated earlier in the week had called for two payments from the IRS — one each in April and May — the Senate GOP proposal only calls for one check at this time.

The GOP plan also outlines provisions to give small businesses $300 billion in federally guaranteed loans, moves back the income tax-filing deadline from April 15 to July 15, provides numerous tax cuts for corporations, and authorizes more than $200 billion in financial support for hard-hit industries such as airlines.

McConnell said he would direct a number of Senate GOP chairmen and senior Republicans to hold talks with their Democratic counterparts, including Finance Committee Chuck Grassley of Iowa, Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo of Idaho, Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, Small Business Committee Chairman Marco Rubio of Florida and Majority Whip John Thune of South Dakota.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow, and White House Director of Legislative Affairs Eric Ueland will also be part of the talks.

McConnell said the bipartisan discussions would begin Friday morning, and he vowed they would continue until a deal is reached.

"These are urgent discussions and they need to happen at the member level, starting now," McConnell said on the floor as he introduced the 247-page proposal. "This legislation is a significant next step. And the Senate is not going anywhere until we take action."

Senate Democrats have outlined their own $750 billion emergency plan that would expand paid family leave, pick sick leave and unemployment insurance.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) immediately complained Democrats "had virtually no impact" in drafting the proposal. Schumer further faulted Republicans for giving a "bailout for a number of industries.

"We don't want these industries to go under, but we don't want the dollars that are put there to go to corporate executives or shareholders," Schumer said. "Again, they mus go to workers first." Schumer doesn't want companies that lay off employees to receive government aid, and he wants restrictions on stock buybacks.

Schumer noted that McConnell has refused to engage Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Democrats as well, which will make it more difficult to achieve a bicameral compromise.

Schumer and Pelosi issued a statement following release of the GOP proposal: “To earn Democratic support in the Congress, any economic stimulus proposal must include new, strong and strict provisions that prioritize and protect workers, such as banning the recipient companies from buying back stock, rewarding executives and laying off workers."

McConnell has faced some opposition from Senate Republicans over the direct payments plan, although White House officials tried to dismiss those complaints as not substantial.

Yet for once, McConnell isn't controlling each aspect of crafting a major piece of legislation put together on the fly, an unusual position for him. McConnell — as good a vote counter as the Senate has ever seen — usually figures out what the goal is first, and then he steers his colleagues toward that goal. Not in this case, though.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) has been the most vocal opponent, despite support for the effort - so far - from President Donald Trump, Mnuchin and other senior administration officials.

Graham told Senate Republicans on Thursday that he had called Trump to lobby against the plan, adding that Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) — soon to take over as White House chief of staff — agreed with him.

"Direct payments make sense when the economy is beginning to restart. It makes no sense now cause it's just money," Graham told reporters. "What I want is income, just not one check. I want you to get a check every week, not just one week."

Graham, like some other Republicans, wants to beef up the unemployment insurance system instead, as well as boosting loans for small businesses..

"I personally think if we're going help people we ought to direct the cash payments maybe as a supplement to unemployment, not to the people that are still working everyday," said Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Ala.). "Just a blanket cash check to everyone in America who is making $75,000... I don't know the logic of that. I could see tying it to unemployment, maybe boosting it for people who are going be laid off for a while."

Shelby, however, cautioned that he wasn't saying he'd vote against the proposal, just that he didn't like it.

Jim Lankford (R-Okla.) said he had a "lot of questions of how this works, who gets and who doesn't." Other Republicans raised similar concerns, although they were cautious in their opposition."

But White House officials privately believe that Senate Republicans will fall in line with Trump if he pushes the cash payments proposal. A senior administration official noted Graham has already expressed his opposition to direct payments.

"We're all going to have to vote for something that in another environment we wouldn't support," said Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.).

McConnell, speaking on the Senate floor Thursday afternoon, outlined the Republican proposal to assist small businesses by providing federally guaranteed loans; direct cash payments, as well as lending to industries such as the airlines that are hit hard by the coronavirus. In addition, Republicans are looking to get more resources for the health care system, which could be overloaded as the virus continues to spread throughout the U.S.

“Our proposal will immediately help American workers, families, and businesses,” McConnell said of the plan, known as “Phase 3.” “Yes, it will help position our economy to thrive once again after this public health menace is behind us … Fundamentally, we have to beat back this virus.”

But the package will need support from at least seven Senate Democrats if all Republicans back it. Schumer emphasized Thursday that Democrats, who have outlined their own vision, will pursue a “workers first” proposal and called for a “Marshall Plan” for the health care system. He also called for a new form of unemployment insurance.

Schumer has stayed in close touch with Mnuchin, who is leading negotiations for the Trump administration, about the third stimulus package, as well as Pelosi.

The minority leader also called for “four corner” negotiations between party leaders in the Senate and the House, but McConnell has shown no interest in involving the House.

In preparing the “Phase 3” package, McConnell has directed task forces to come up with proposals. Rubio and Susan Collins (R-Maine) are suggesting giving small businesses forgivable loans, which would be administered by a bank, credit union or some other type of lender.

According to a draft discussion of the small business proposal, obtained by POLITICO, the maximum small business loan the government could back would double to $10 million from $5 million through the end of the year.

McConnell emphasized earlier Thursday that the proposals are not “bailouts.”

“From small businesses to key sectors, we are not talking about so-called ‘bailouts’ for firms that made reckless decisions,” McConnell said. “Nobody is alleging a moral hazard here. None of these firms — not corner stores, not pizza parlors, not airlines — brought this on themselves.”

The third stimulus package comes after the Senate passed Wednesday a multi-billion dollar House-passed emergency aid package. While some Republicans had expressed reservations about the package's paid sick leave provisions, the final vote tally was 90-8.

House Democrats are drafting their own stimulus package with extensive financial protections — including direct monthly payments of as much as $2,000 for adults; grants and debt relief for small businesses; and measures to halt evictions and foreclosures.

Democrats would also enforce strict rules on businesses that receive federal cash, such as maintaining payroll, upholding collective bargaining rights and no stock buybacks.

Pelosi and committee leaders laid out the details of the plan — which is still taking shape — on a more than two-hour conference call on Thursday.

Separately from the economic relief measures, House Democrats are also pushing for between $120 billion and $150 billion in cash for federal agencies. Much of that would trickle down to state and local authorities, which have been struggling to meet public health and economic demands amid the outbreak.

Democrats say Congress may have no choice but to dole out the funds on the third package, instead of waiting for a fourth, because it’s unclear how much longer both chambers will be able to meet in person.

Sarah Ferris contributed to this story.

Just two weeks ago, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was on the Senate floor haranguing his Democratic counterpart, Chuck Schumer, over the New York senator’s allegedly “threatening” comments toward two Supreme Court justices. Just before that, McConnell and Schumer were locked in a month-long bitter struggle over President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial.

But as the United States confronts potentially devastating economic consequences from the coronavirus pandemic, the Senate leaders face a stiff challenge on whether they can come together to quickly finalize a massive economic stimulus package. Their ability to reach a bipartisan agreement will shape the crisis’ fallout for millions of Americans.

McConnell and Schumer’s relationship has repeatedly been strained throughout the Trump era, in particular as Congress faced down government shutdowns and fiscal deadlines under an unpredictable, populist president who will attack anyone he sees as a threat, even members of his own party. But both men like to make deals — and they’ve proven skilled at just that in recent years.

“Schumer’s a deal maker and McConnell’s a deal maker — he holds his cards very close to the vest but he’s a deal maker,” said Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), who worked closely with McConnell on legislation to raise the tobacco purchase age to 21.

After deferring to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and the White House on the House’s multi-billion dollar “Phase 2” emergency coronavirus bill, McConnell is taking the lead on the so-called “Phase 3” effort. It’s a $1 trillion-plus stimulus package intended to cushion the expected blow to the U.S. economy as businesses shut down and entire industries see plummeting demand for their goods and services, by far the most expensive economic rescue effort for Congress since the Great Recession ended more than a decade ago.

"It is critical that we move swiftly and boldly to begin to stabilize our economy, preserve Americans' jobs, get money workers and families and keep up our fight on the health front," McConnell said Thursday. "This is exactly, exactly what our proposal will do."

But McConnell knows any deal will have to be bipartisan — and will need support from at least seven Democrats, assuming his caucus is united, to move forward. That gives Schumer — who has been in lockstep with Speaker Nancy Pelosi on the response to the crisis — leverage in the negotiations.

“This is a massive problem. It takes bold, strong, immediate action. And we'll have to stay at this for a while because there are so many different problems we have to deal with, but we can't be partisan,” Schumer said in a CNN interview Wednesday night. “We can’t be timid. It's got to be bold and strong and comprehensive. And we’re prepared to stay here and do that.”

The two leaders have yet to speak about the Senate’s “Phase 3” stimulus package.

McConnell is seeking to first build a consensus among Senate Republicans — on everything from direct payments to loans — and then will bring his proposal to Schumer to iron out the details. Senators expect those talks to last well into the weekend, and McConnell is urging lawmakers to stay close by so that the Senate can quickly vote on and pass the aid package.

“I’m about as conservative fiscally as you can find on Capitol Hill. But my approach to this is: I’m pretty much Mr. Senator whatever it takes, we’ve got to get the economy back standing so when the virus is contained and it will be contained we can have an economy to come back to,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said.

McConnell and Schumer have seen some ups and downs in their own relationship. In 2018, the pair made a rare joint appearance at the University of Louisville’s McConnell Center, where the two men were jovial and exchanged bottles of bourbon. They also clinched a two-year budget caps agreement last year.

But relations soured during Trump's impeachment. There's also residual bitterness at McConnell from Democrats over his decision to block Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland, and then use partisan muscle to push Trump picks Neil Gorscuh and Brett Kavanaugh onto the high court.

Yet the McConnell-Schumer dynamic is nowhere near as toxic as relations got between McConnell and former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.). While Reid and McConnell both served on the Appropriations Committee and prided themselves on their legislative flexibility, their relationship completely fell apart by the time Reid retired in 2016. The bitterness between the two men carried over onto the Senate floor, paralyzing the chamber's work.

So far, McConnell and Schumer are projecting confidence about their ability to work together again to stave off the unprecedented coronavirus crisis.

“Both sides are going to be sufficiently motivated and we need to be bipartisan on this and I’m hoping that spirit of cooperation will really kick in,” said Senate Majority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.).

“I think we always have — after 9/11, after 2008. We’ll do it again,” added Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), a top adviser to McConnell.

But the 2008 bailout of the U.S. financial services industry was a searing experience for both men. Schumer had ridden into the Senate Democratic leadership on his ability to raise money, especially from Wall Street. Schumer later received criticism from progressives over those corporate relationships.

McConnell voted for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), as the 2008 Wall Street rescue bill was called, only to see the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee — then run by Schumer — attack him over the issue during his reelection campaign that year. And McConnell — who is known for never forgetting anything — is running for reelection again this year.

Even before confronting each other over the next emergency package, the two Senate leaders will have to get their own members in line. McConnell convinced his caucus this week to vote for the House-passed coronavirus “Phase 2” stimulus package, despite GOP objections over the paid sick leave provisions. In the end, the package passed on Wednesday 90-8. All the ‘no’ votes were Republicans.

Republicans are expected to unveil their “Phase 3” proposal Thursday. Among the ideas that were under discussion at a GOP lunch Wednesday were direct payments to individual Americans who make less than a certain amount; the deferment of student loans for potentially three months; and provisions for small businesses.

Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) are discussing giving small businesses forgivable loans, which would be administered by a bank, credit union or some other type of lender.

Meanwhile, Schumer has been speaking directly with Mnuchin, including twice on Wednesday. Schumer and Senate Democrats are proposing at least a $750 billion package to expand paid family leave, paid sick leave and unemployment insurance. The proposal allocates $400 billion in emergency appropriations to support the health care system, child care and small businesses and $350 billion to social safety net programs.

Sens. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) said Wednesday the third stimulus package the Senate will consider must include a much broader paid sick leave policy in order for it to pass.

“We can’t just do any type of response that only protects large corporations and businesses and not strengthen the social safety net which is where people are going to be needing the most help,” said Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) in an interview.

Schumer has joined Pelosi in calling for “four corner” negotiations between the party leaders in both the House and Senate, but McConnell has expressed no desire so far to sit down with Pelosi.

Yet some House Democrats fear that McConnell will try to pick off enough Senate Democrats to reach the critical 60-vote threshold in that chamber, pass a bill, and then try to “jam” the House politically. Pelosi has announced that Democrats will draft their own “Phase 3” proposal to give them bargaining power in the Senate’s talks.

The discussions come as coronavirus is finally hitting Congress. Two House lawmakers have contracted the virus and more than a dozen are in self-quarantine after having been exposed to colleagues or other individuals who tested positive.

McConnell has vowed to keep the Senate in session until he and Schumer can pass a bill. Some senators have called for remote voting, but so far, appear to be staying put. The two leaders hope to have a deal in place by as early as this weekend, if they can reach one.

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard is suspending her longshot campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination and throwing her support behind former Vice President Joe Biden, the Hawaii congresswoman announced on Thursday.“I owe you an incredible debt of gratitude for all you’ve done as the heart and soul of our people-powered campaign: Today, I’ve made the decision to suspend my campaign for the presidency,” Gabbard said in a note to her campaign’s supporters. Gabbard, who is not running for reelection to Congress, pointed to the coronavirus pandemic as part of her motivation for ending her presidential campaign, writing that “the best way I can be of service at this time is to continue to work for the health and wellbeing of the people of Hawaii and our country in Congress, and to stand ready to serve in uniform should the Hawaii National Guard be activated.”In a video published on social media on Thursday morning, Gabbard said that while she does not agree with Biden on every issue, “I know that he has a good heart and is motivated by his love for our country and the American people.”Gabbard continued: “I’m confident that he will lead our country guided by the spirit of aloha—respect and compassion—and thus help heal the divisiveness that has been tearing our country apart. So today, I’m suspending my presidential campaign, and offering my full support to Vice President Joe Biden in his quest to bring our country together.”The endorsement comes as something of a surprise. Gabbard’s presidential campaign revolved around her experience as a combat veteran of the war in Iraq, a war she came to deeply criticize and for which Biden voted. In 2016, Gabbard resigned as a vice chair of the Democratic National Committee in order to endorse Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) presidential campaign that cycle, whom she said “will not waste precious lives and money on interventionist wars and regime change.”Gabbard’s chances at winning the Democratic nomination were vanishingly low from the beginning of her campaign, which got off to a halting start when she lost her campaign manager and consultants just weeks after announcing her campaign in January 2019.The Hawaii congresswoman became a darling in conservative media circles for her willingness to eschew party orthodoxy on foreign policy and her willingness to attack fellow presidential hopefuls in early debates. Her decision to vote “present” in the House vote on articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, too, was wildly popular with conservatives. Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.