The White House is insisting that Congress include a payroll tax cut as part of the next coronavirus stimulus package, potentially complicating talks with lawmakers by pushing a measure that President Trump has tried but failed to advance for almost a year, the Washington Post reported. “President Trump wants to provide relief to hard working Americans who have been impacted by this virus and one way of doing that is with a payroll tax holiday,” White House spokesman Judd Deere said in a statement. “He’s called on Congress to pass this before and he believes it must be part of any phase four package.” Trump’s renewed push for a payroll tax holiday comes as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) prepares to unveil legislation next week that he hopes will launch negotiations on the next major coronavirus bill. Key Republican senators have been cool to the idea of a payroll tax cut in the past, partly because it only helps workers who are actually employed. Congress has rebuffed Trump’s previous demands for a payroll tax cut for individuals, instead approving a round of checks to individual Americans as part of the $2 trillion CARES Act in March.
