Stimulus Package Criticism.

WASHINGTON — Partisan tensions erupted on Monday afternoon as the Senate failed for a second time to advance a massive stimulus package to address the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, with lawmakers accusing the other party of holding up negotiations.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., excoriated Democrats ahead of the vote, saying, “This body can’t get its act together, and the only reason it can’t get its act together is right over here on the other side of the aisle.”

Democrats and Republicans had negotiated “furiously,” McConnell said, to make progress on the bill, but the legislation now includes a number of changes requested by Democrats.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., offered a more optimistic impression on the status of the talks, saying: “We’re very close to reaching a deal — very close. And our goal is to reach a deal today.”

Schumer dismissed McConnell’s criticisms and said asking for protections for workers and labor “are not extraneous issues” but instead “a wish list for workers, nobody else.”

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