On track for new economic stimulus, says White House

President Donald Trump’s economic advisor Larry Kudlow on Sunday said that a new COVID-19 economic stimulus package proposed by the White House may still make the cut despite opposition from Democrats and some Republicans.

Kudlow, talking about the stimulus deal, told CNN’s “State of the Union”, “No, I don’t think it’s dead at all.”

“We’re asking for some targeted areas of assistance that would help this recovery. It is a V-shaped recovery, but there are key areas that could help,” Kudlow said.

 Kudlow added, “These are simple things. They have bipartisan support. We could do it as stand-alone bills, or an omnibus bill, or whatever. But I don’t understand the intransigence from my Democratic friends.”

After President Donald Trump’s hasty decision to call negotiations on the stimulus package this week the markets tanked, following which the Republican party has been careful on negotiating about the economic measures.

The White House on Friday strengthened its offer and proposed a $1.8 trillion package as Trump himself said that he favoured an even larger package.

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Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, however, has turned a cold shoulder on the chances of a  new deal, saying Congress is unlikely to agree on a new stimulus package before the election due to differences over how much to spend.

Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin have been negotiating for weeks, raising hopes for a huge, new relief package. The new stimulus would follow up on the $2.2 trillion CARES Act and other measures that brought the total aid passed by Congress to nearly $3 trillion.