Trump says he wants a 'bigger' COVID-19 stimulus bill than Pelosi, claims Senate GOP 'would go along'

Trump in Nevada
(Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube/AP)

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Sunday that if she and the White House can't agree on a COVID-19 stimulus package by Tuesday night, it will have to wait until after the election. Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin have been negotiating for months, and they are reportedly within striking distance of a deal worth between $1.8 trillion and $2.2 trillion. "I am optimistic that we can reach agreement before the election," Pelosi wrote her caucus on Saturday, adding that Democrats are "fully prepared to move forward once we reach agreement."

President Trump said Sunday that Pelosi, who passed a $3.4 trillion stimulus bill in May and a $2.2 trillion bill this month, is being too frugal now. "I want to do it at a bigger number than she wants," he said on the tarmac in Carson City, Nevada. "That doesn't mean all the Republicans agree with me, but I think they will in the end. If she would go along, I think they would, too, on stimulus."

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.