As we move closer to the November election, the politicians are likely feeling the pressure, especially President Donald Trump. On Tuesday, Trump scrapped the stimulus talks, but on Thursday, he said the talks are back on. Trump claims he has restarted the talks on the next coronavirus stimulus bill, which will include checks of $1,200.
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Trump, on Thursday, said the negotiators are now having “productive talks” following his decision to end the negotiations a couple of days back.
“I shut down talks two days ago because they weren’t working out. Now they are starting to work out. We’re starting to have some very productive talks,” he told Fox Business. “I said look we’re not getting anywhere: Shut it down. I didn’t want to waste time. But in any event, we got back — both sides very capable — we got back, we started talking again.”
Trump said now there are talks on relief for airlines and on a deal bigger than airlines. Also, he said the talks are about giving $1,200 stimulus checks and other things. Talking about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the President said that she will work with the White House, and that both sides want to provide stimulus support.
“She wants it to happen, too; she doesn’t want it not to happen,” Trump said. “Because it’s so good for our country, we really need it.”
Will there be comprehensive bill, or standalone bills?
Trump received bipartisan criticism after he ended talks on Tuesday. When Trump ended talks, the two sides were $600 billion apart. The House Democrats recently approved a $2.2 trillion plan, while the latest offer from the White House is of $1.6 billion.
“It’s not anybody’s fault,” Trump said. “They were trying to get things and we were trying to get things. It wasn’t going anywhere. I shut it down. I don’t want to play games.”
One of the main sticking point in the negotiations has been over the aid for state and local governments. Democrats are demanding more in funds for the state and local governments, while Trump and Republicans are against it.
Trump and Republicans referred to aid as bailout for Democratic-run states. Another holdup is the plan to tackle the coronavirus. The Democratic proposal includes $75 billion to expand testing and contact tracing.
Nevertheless, now that the coronavirus stimulus talks are back on, there are good chances of a deal, including stimulus checks, before the November election. In fact, Pelosi and the Treasury Secretary talked on Thursday.
Now, it will be interesting to see if there will be one comprehensive bill, or standalone bills. After Trump ended talks on Tuesday, he did urge Congress to pass standalone bills for stimulus checks, the airlines and paycheck protection.
Pelosi, however, doesn’t seem to be in favor of standalone bills. Though she talked about aid for airlines, Pelosi said she won’t support a bill that supports just one industry.
