America’s catastrophically inadequate response to the coronavirus can be attributed largely to bad short-term decisions by one man. And I do mean short-term: At every stage, Donald Trump minimized the threat and blocked helpful action because he wanted to look good for the next news cycle or two, ignoring and intimidating anyone who tried to give him good advice. What’s now becoming clear is that when it comes to dealing with the economic fallout from Covid-19, the situation may be even worse. There are still some competent professionals holding senior positions at federal health agencies, who could give Trump good advice if he were willing to listen. But serious economic thinking has effectively been banned from this administration, if not the whole Republican Party. As far as I can tell, the Trump team is utterly incapable of formulating a coherent response to the gathering economic crisis.

Fortunately, as Krugman recognizes, there are at least two officials in the U.S. government who have already demonstrated the necessary capability of responding to this unprecedented catastrophe on behalf of the American people. Only one was elected, however.

As a result, there are only two potential loci of intelligent economic policymaking left in Washington. One is the Federal Reserve; the other is the congressional Democratic leadership. At this point, in other words, it’s pretty much up to Jay Powell, the Fed chairman, and Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House; the question is whether Trump and Senate Republicans will let them save the economy.

We’ve all witnessed Fed Chairman’s Powell’s efforts. He has little to work with other than interest rate cuts and “quantitative easing” in order to attempt an adjustment of fiscal policy to accommodate what is increasingly looking like the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. The outcome of his efforts stood in stark relief today with the president’s own desultory press conference. As the president dimly responded to questions, the stock market fairly collapsed on itself, with the highest point drop in over thirty-two years.

So much for Chairman Powell. At least, as Krugman notes, he had the class to admit that he’s essentially helpless: “In fact, Powell himself basically acknowledged as much, declaring that he and his colleagues “don’t have the tools” to reach those most in need of help, and that “fiscal responses are critical.”

And echoing through all of this is the eerie silence emanating from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s chambers. You might be forgiven for believing that McConnell had abdicated the entire legislative response to the coronavirus pandemic to the Democrats, so feeble have been his words and actions over the past few days. You might even be forgiven for concluding that he has absolutely no idea what to do (assuming he even cares).

The “fiscal response” necessary to salvage this economic disaster has to come entirely from the Democratic Party. Democratic staffers put together the legislation that will ultimately be presented for McConnell’s approval, including paid sick leave, and unemployment benefits for the real, living, breathing and working Americans that Republicans seem to have misplaced in their thought processes long ago. But even that isn’t going to be enough for what’s coming down the road.

The Senate probably will eventually pass Pelosi’s bill. But with all signs pointing to a steep economic dive, we need a much bigger stimulus package — perhaps along the lines being developed by Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader — as soon as possible. This package shouldn’t include tax cuts; it should focus overwhelmingly on cash grants, perhaps a basic grant to every legal resident plus additional grants to those in special need. And since there’s nobody left in the G.O.P. who can put together a coherent stimulus plan, Democrats will have to do the job, perhaps with help from the Federal Reserve intervention to stabilize highly stressed financial markets.

So history is repeating itself. Just as President Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi saved the economy in 2009, by passing the fiscal stimulus and putting the economy back on a path towards recovery, it has now fallen to Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Schumer to bail us out of this disaster. If that is even possible.

Because the Republicans in our government don’t have a clue what to do.

Again.