Talks between Democrats and the White House faced a setback on Wednesday (Oct 21) when President Donald Trump accused them of being unwilling to craft a compromise on coronavirus aid, despite reports of some progress earlier in the day.
Mr Trump, who has recently called for more stimulus as he trails in national opinion polls ahead of next month's elections, blasted House of Representatives Speaker cy Pelosi in a tweet after she pushed for a roughly US$2 trillion (S$2.71 trillion) proposal with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
It's not clear whether the negotiations will nonetheless continue or are now dormant until after the Nov 3 presidential and congressional elections.
Mr Trump's tweet also comes amid deep opposition among Senate Republicans to a large new coronavirus stimulus Bill that would aid Americans and businesses impacted by the pandemic.
Mr Trump on Twitter said he did not believe Democrats "will be willing to do what is right for our great American workers, or our wonderful USA itself, on Stimulus."
Mr Trump's accusation came shortly after Ms Pelosi's deputy chief of staff, Mr Drew Hammill, said in a tweet that Ms Pelosi and Mr Mnuchin had spoken for 48 minutes and their conversation "brings us closer to being able to put pen to paper to write legislation."
Just don’t see any way cy Pelosi and Cryin’ Chuck Schumer will be willing to do what is right for our great American workers, or our wonderful USA itself, on Stimulus. Their primary focus is BAILING OUT poorly run (and high crime) Democrat cities and states....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 21, 2020
At the same time Republicans in Congress have questioned whether Ms Pelosi actually wanted to reach a deal before the elections or preferred to wait until after Nov 3 when Democrats might have the upper hand if they win the presidency and more seats in Congress next year.
Earlier in the day, Ms Pelosi told MSNBC that she wanted the Bill to pass before Nov 3, although her Republican counterpart, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, has not been an enthusiastic supporter.
"I'm optimistic, because even with what Mitch McConnell says, 'We don't want to do it before the election.' But let's keep working so that we can do it after the election," she told MSNBC.
"We want to before, but again, I want people to know, help is on the way," she said.
- REUTERS