Congressional Democrats and the incoming Biden administration accused Republicans of jeopardising a $900bn fiscal stimulus deal by insisting on curbs to the Federal Reserve’s crisis lending powers, as tensions flared in the last-ditch negotiations.
The late obstacle to an agreement came as leaders of both parties sought to finalise a compromise that would help the world’s largest economy weather the latest surge in coronavirus cases and support the slowing recovery.
The spat over Fed lending flared up unexpectedly on Thursday, when Pat Toomey, the Republican senator from Pennsylvania, said he and other lawmakers from his party had pushed to include a provision preventing the Fed from reviving a series of lending facilities tied to the pandemic that are due to expire at the end of the year.
Democrats reacted angrily to Mr Toomey’s move on Friday morning, saying it could constrain the capacity of US policymakers to respond to the economic downturn next year….