Fox News host Jesse Watters said Thursday that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was using the latest coronavirus stimulus package as “hush money.”
Watters argued on “The Five” that the plan to pay federal workers to stay home with their children amounted to “hush money” to get them to “stop complaining” about the fact that schools had not yet reopened. (RELATED: ‘That Wasn’t Cool’: Jesse Watters Rebukes Juan Williams For Suggesting His Cohosts Stood With Capitol Mob)
WATCH:
Cohost Juan Williams began the segment by explaining a part of the stimulus package that created a fund for federal workers whose children had not been able to return to school.
“They would get 15 weeks of paid leave to stay home with their kids if they have to do remote learning. Jesse, obviously, Republicans are still fighting but I’m wondering if making this bill unpopular is becoming a lost cause,” Williams said, turning to Watters. “What do you think?”
Watters said that if more people knew what was in the bill, they might not support it — but he also acknowledged that the promise of “free money” was always popular.
“Juan, this is slick by Nancy,” Watters went on to argue that Pelosi was essentially using the stimulus package as a means to quiet opposition. “It’s morally wrong but I will give her credit. What she is doing is paying off the federal government employee parents to not complain about their children’s schools being closed, so she is running interference for the teachers unions.”
“They’re closing all the schools and all these parents are complaining, ‘I’ve got to send my kid to school, what are you doing?'” Watters added. “She is saying hush, hush, here’s some hush money, we are going to pay an extra $5,600 a month — a month, Juan, cash — to be quiet and stop complaining and keep your kids home.”
A top Senate official said Thursday that Democrats would not be allowed to include a $15 minimum wage increase in the coronavirus relief package.