Mnuchin reportedly warns coronavirus could cause 20 percent unemployment rate

Steven Mnuchin.
(Image credit: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin gave Republican senators a stark warning on Tuesday, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg News, saying that if the government doesn't step in to offer economic relief amid the coronavirus pandemic, U.S. unemployment could reach 20 percent.

Mnuchin was trying to get support for his $1 trillion economic stimulus proposal, aimed at providing financial assistance to small businesses and wage workers. While meeting with lawmakers, Mnuchin also shared his thinking that the coronavirus could cause an economic fallout worse than the 2008 financial crisis, Bloomberg reports.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.