There was some movement in the effort to pass another coronavirus relief bill in Congress as Donald Trump signaled his willingness to accept a higher dollar amount than the $1 trillion previously offered.
The Democrats in the House are getting antsy and want to see the speaker back at the negotiating table with Republicans. But for the moment, Pelosi is standing firm on her demand that the White House commit to a bill worth at least $2.2 trillion.
CNBC:
President Donald Trump on Wednesday urged Republicans to embrace a larger coronavirus stimulus package as a top White House aide showed more optimism about striking a deal with Democrats.
In a tweet, the president told GOP lawmakers to “go for the much higher numbers” in legislation designed to boost an economy and health-care system struggling under the weight of the pandemic. Many Republicans have embraced limited relief — or backed no new spending at all — as the major parties struggle to break a stalemate over a fifth relief bill.
If Trump cracks the whip, GOP senators will fall in line. So right now it’s up to Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats whether they really want to give relief to the millions who need it, or whether they just want to make Trump and Republicans the villains.
Shortly after Trump tweeted, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows told CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” that he is “probably more optimistic about the potential for a deal in the last 72 hours than I have been in the last 72 days.” The comment from Meadows, one of the two leading Trump administration negotiators in stimulus talks, followed the Tuesday release of a roughly $1.5 trillion aid proposal by the bipartisan House Problem Solvers Caucus.
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