Nancy Pelosi Devastatingly Loses 18 Democrats Vote in Her Stimulus Bill

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi lost 18 of the Democratic negotiators' vote in her proposed $2.2 trillion stimulus bill. Here is why they opposed the proposal.

On Thursday evening, the House Democrats passed their own $2.2 trillion stimulus spending by a 214-2017 vote. The Republican lawmakers unanimously opposed it, while 18 Democrats crossed party lines to vote against the bill.

Those that broke with the Democrats' position were moderate in their party who represent the red-leaning districts. At least 17 of those joined their Republican colleagues in voting against the bill said that there is no chance of it to become a law. The Republican Senate believed that the House should wait for a bipartisan deal to be reached before they push through the vote, according to NewsWeek.

Pelosi gathered with Dean Phillips, Congressman of Minnesota and fellow Democrats Jason Crow of Colorado and Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey on the floors before he voted against the measure. Following their long conversation, both congressmen voted in favor of Pelosi's stimulus bill.

"We are closer than we have been in months, but the only thing that will deliver the help my constituents need is a bill that will become law," Democrat Cindy Axne of Iowa, who also voted against the bill, said.

The so-called Heroes Act 2.0 legislation is a skinny version of the initial $3.4 trillion Heroes Act passed in May. Representative Peter King was the only member of the GOP that supported the bill at the time. The Senate Republicans then blocked it because of its high price tag.

The Heroes Act 2.0, a new version, includes a second round of $1,200 stimulus checks, $225 billion for education, extended $600 unemployment support per week, $436 billion in emergency aid for local and state governments and airlines and restaurants industry assistance.

Negotiations between Democrats, Republicans, and the Trump administration have not yielded a bipartisan deal after several months of stimulus deadlock. Mitch McConnell, Senate Majority Leader, has indicated that the new stimulus package would fail in the Senate as the Republicans urged a smaller bill.

The party recently proposed a roughly $500 billion stimulus package which Democrats described as "dead on arrival."

The proposal is about a half the figure of Republicans' previously proposed $1 trillion HEALS Act. McConnell said, "We're very, very far apart. The thought that Senate Republicans would jump up to $2.2 trillion is outlandish."

Both parties blame the opposite party for failing to pass another stimulus package amid the pandemic. Republicans accused the Democrats of using COVID-19 to have a progressive political agenda. At the same time, Democrats criticized the GOP for allegedly declining to provide enough funds.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin held negotiations hours before the House vote. The discussions took about 50 minutes, as per Pelosi's spokesperson Drew Hamill.

Reportedly, the top negotiators discussed the latest offer of $1.6 trillion of the Trump Administration. Speaker Nancy Pelosi resisted the offer and insisted that the amount was too low to provide for Americans adequately.

Although Pelosi said that she is "optimistic" that an agreement will be struck, and Mnuchin ensured that any stimulus deal would include $1,200 direct payments, Democrats admitted that both sides still "have a dollar and values debate" to overcome.

On Thursday, when asked by reporters about the chance of having a deal, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, "I don't know. It just depends. We'll see."

Check these out:

COVID-19 Stimulus Talks Deadline Finally Set on Noon Wednesday, Democrats Say

Stimulus Checks Might Be Released Mid-October Once Pelosi, Mnuchin Reached a Deal

Heroes Act 2.0: New Stimulus Package, Inclusions