Larry Kudlow Says $1.9T Relief Package Unnecessary, Pandemic Coming to an End On 2/23/21 at 4:59 PM EST Larry Kudlow, White House economics adviser under former President Donald Trump, ridiculed President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion relief package as a bloated and completely unnecessary bill because the pandemic "is coming to a rolling end." Kudlow said economic history shows that "targeted" assistance packages should only offer direct payments to people making under $40,000-to-$50,000-a-year and should instead focus on small businesses and schools. Kudlow echoed the criticism of many Republicans who say they won't support "blanket" checks to individuals making more than $75,000 and are refusing to support the $15 federal minimum wage hike included in the bill. Kudlow said "the economy must open" and he mocked his own friends for saying "you shouldn't go to dinner" and other "nonsense" that takes the focus away from America's vaccination successes.