As Trump Kills Covid-19 Relief Talks, Census Data Shows Millions of Americans Expecting to Lose Wages, Job, or Home

Less than 24 hours after President Donald Trump called off negotiations with congressional Democrats on federal Covid-19 relief until after Election Day, the U.S. Census Bureau released new survey results showing that millions of American households are anticipating income loss and layoffs as well as evictions and foreclosures as the coronavirus pandemic drags on in the coming weeks.

Based on responses to the Household Pulse Survey collected during the final two weeks of September, almost a third of adults across the country--and over half of those in the District of Columbia, Louisiana, Nebraska, North Carolina, and Wyoming--are in households that are somewhat or very likely to experience an eviction or foreclosure within the next two months.

Nationwide, nearly a quarter of American adults expect a loss in employment income for their household over the next four weeks. About 32% said "it has been somewhat or very difficult to pay for usual household expenses during the coronavirus pandemic," and over 10% reported their families sometimes or often not having enough to eat within the past week.

The Census Bureau's latest data on American suffering during the public health crisis illustrate the intense need for relief on a national scale as Trump has walked away from talks and instructed Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to instead focus his attention on confirming Trump Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett before November 3.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the United States had more than 7.5 million confirmed cases of Covid-19 and over 211,000 people had died. Despite the country's mounting caseload and death toll, Congress and the White House have failed to reach another deal to help those struggling since the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act that Trump signed in March.

While the Democrat-controlled House has passed multiple relief packages over the past six months, Senate Republicans and Trump officials have rejected those measures and put forth less ambitious proposals. Since Tuesday afternoon, progressive lawmakers and other critics of the president--who is currently battling Covid-19--have blasted his decision to halt negotiations:

Some critics have highlighted other data and reporting about how Americans are struggling, such as an NBC News piece published Tuesday about hunger that notes a recent analysis projecting food insecurity will ultimately reach 52 million people due to Covid-19--or an increase of 17 million people from before the pandemic.

Discussing Trump's decision on ABC's "The View," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Wednesday that "he's rebounding from a terrible mistake he made yesterday and the Republicans in Congress are going down the drain with him on that." Urging his advisers to stage an intervention, she reiterated that "it is really important for us to come to this agreement."