President Donald Trump has approved a revised coronavirus stimulus package and wants to "do a deal" with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, White House National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow confirmed Friday.
"The president has just recently met with Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin," Kudlow told Fox Business' Stuart Varney. Treasury Secretary Steven "Mnuchin expects to be speaking with Speaker Pelosi shortly this afternoon. The president has approved a revised package. He would like to do a deal," Kudlow added.
Kudlow said he could not go through the details of the deal, but said it would be "relatively broad-based."
However, he thinks the package includes "what our White House asks have been" for assistance for airlines, small business paycheck protection assistance, "and probably, I can't swear to this, there will be some backup for unemployment assistance, exactly the things that I've argued will help the recovery, okay. It's like taking out an insurance contract."
Kudlow also would not comment on whether the president's approved plan rejects bailouts for Democrat-run states.
"It's never been a totally purist position," he said. "It was just a question of where that money would go and how efficiently and smart that money might be and what the sums are, but I can't possibly go into any specifics. Believe me, Secretary Mnuchin, who is awfully good at this will be discussing with Speaker Pelosi for the final touches and details. But I think the key point is the president has approved the package and quote, "he wants to do a deal."
Meanwhile, Kudlow has been predicting 20% economic growth for the fourth quarter of this year, and he said Friday he likes what he's been seeing.
"Retail sales, strong. Consumers, strong," he said. "Autos are so strong, Stuart, auto sales are rising so rapidly that the carmakers are probably going to have to go into extra shifts in order to increase inventory to meet the demand and added production. That means more workers called back, more overtime for the American middle-class, blue-collar workforce, and that's going to trickle through to family income."
With Trump's offer on the stimulus package, "I think we are moving in the right direction," said Kudlow.
"The gap is narrowing," he said. "The bid and the offer, if you will, have narrowed significantly and therefore, in Wall Street terms, there may be a trade for some additional assistance for the American recovery from this pandemic contraction."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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