Trump urges Republicans to go ‘much higher’ on stimulus
US President Donald Trump has encouraged Republicans on Capitol Hill to come up with a more generous stimulus offer, as the White House tries to break the deadlock over the next package.
Trump tweeted yesterday evening: “Go for the much higher numbers, Republicans, it all comes back to the USA anyway (one way or another!)”
Talks between Republicans and Democrats over the next round of stimulus have ground to a halt. The level of unemployment relief has been a major sticking point.
Senate Democrats last week blocked the Republicans’ $500bn (£390bn) stimulus package, arguing that it was not enough. The Democrats want something closer to $2.2 trillion.
Trump’s tweet is a sign that the White House is keen to secure a deal. Asked later in the day whether he supported a roughly $1.5 trillion package proposed by a bipartisan group, Trump said he wanted “something like that”.
Trump attacks Democrats for deadlock
He also said that “some Republicans disagree, but I think I can convince them to go along with that”. However, Trump did not try to reach common ground with Democrats, but blamed them for the deadlock.
His full tweet read: “Democrats are “heartless”. They don’t want to give STIMULUS PAYMENTS to people who desperately need the money, and whose fault it was NOT that the plague came in from China. Go for the much higher numbers, Republicans, it all comes back to the USA anyway (one way or another!).”
White House chief of staff Mark Meadows told CNBC that he was “probably more optimistic about the potential for a deal in the last 72 hours than I have been in the last 72 days”.
The US economy is set for its worst year in memory. And although it will grow sharply in the third quarter after a terrible second quarter, economists warn that another injection of fiscal stimulus is sorely needed.
US Federal Reserve chair Jay Powell yesterday said more fiscal support was required. He has previously expressed concerns that the Fed is being left to do the heavy lifting.