President Donald Trump earlier this week directed House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., to broker a “big deal” with Democrats on coronavirus relief, Axios reports.
Trump phoned McCarthy on Wednesday, after seeing the stock market drop as a result of his breaking off negotiations in a tweet he sent a day earlier. He also told Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to make inroads on a comprehensive relief bill, specifically noting that it should do more than just assist the airline industry and expand the Paycheck Protection Program.
The secretary reportedly called the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., on Wednesday night, after speaking to Trump, to inform her that negotiations were not off after all.
Axios’ sources also say that Trump, his his call with McCarthy, mentioned that he agreed with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s call for a fiscal stimulus and argument that there’s a low risk of “overdoing it.”
Neither the White House nor McCarthy’s office responded to Axios’ requests for comment.
Trump told Fox Business on Thursday that his people are “starting to have some very productive talks” about a package.
"I said, look, we're not getting anywhere: Shut it down. I didn't want to waste time. But in any event, we got back — both sides very capable — we got back, we started talking again," the president said. "And we're talking about airlines and we're talking about a bigger deal than airlines. We're talking about a deal with $1,200 per person, we’re talking about other things."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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