McConnell says stimulus bill is 'unlikely in the next 3 weeks' as Trump insists 'negotiations are moving along'

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is casting doubt on the future of coronavirus relief.

Earlier this week, Trump pulled the plug on COVID-19 stimulus talks, saying he would tell Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to halt negotiations with Democrats "until after the election." Even though Trump has since changed his mind, McConnell told reporters Friday that a deal is still "unlikely in the next three weeks."

As of Friday morning, Trump was back on the stimulus train, tweeting that "Covid relief negotiations are moving along. Go big!" CNN and Bloomberg soon reported the White House had offered House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) a $1.8 trillion deal, up from its previous offer of $1.6 trillion. That includes $300 billion in state and local funding — "too low for Democrats, but in the right direction," Politico reports. Democrats want $2.2 trillion in funding, but the GOP is unwilling to top $2 trillion.

The Week

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

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up

Regardless, any relief is unlikely to get far without McConnell's cooperation, and he doesn't seem willing to talk before the election. "You're never going to get a deal out of Pelosi that Republicans can support. So do you really want to divide your party within days of an election?" a source close to Senate leadership told Axios. "We do need another rescue package," McConnell acknowledged Friday, but "differences of opinion about what is needed at this particular juncture are pretty bad."