White House coronavirus stimulus package could top $1 trillion, Mnuchin confirms

(Image credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

published 17 March 2020

The White House is pushing a $1 trillion response to the coronavirus pandemic.

After reports indicated that the White House's COVID-19 economic stimulus package could top $1 trillion, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin confirmed that price tag on Tuesday. "We have put a proposal on the table that would inject a trillion into the economy," Mnuchin said after a meeting encouraging Senate Republicans to back the plan, though he was light on its actual details.

Mnuchin said earlier Tuesday that he would pitch senators on an $850 billion plan, and that it would include tax cuts and economic relief for both small businesses and the airline industry. The $1 trillion possibility, Mnuchin said after that actual meeting, would also include "a combination of loans" and "direct checks to individuals." An administration official told CNBC that $500–550 billion would be dedicated to direct payments and tax cuts for individual Americans, $200–300 billion would go to small businesses, and $50–100 billion would be allotted for airline relief.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox