Mnuchin, Schumer brief Trump, expect coronavirus stimulus deal Tuesday

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin say they briefed President Trump late Monday night on a forthcoming massive stimulus agreement and predicted they would finalize the deal Tuesday.  

“The president would like to have a deal, and he’s hopeful we can conclude this tomorrow,” Mnuchin told reporters after leaving Schumer’s office for the final time early Tuesday morning. 

Schumer added that Mnuchin called the president during their meeting and they told him they were “very, very close to an agreement.” 

“He seemed very happy with that,” Schumer said.

Trump knocked Democrats in a tweet minutes after Mnuchin had gone into Schumer’s office for another meeting.

“Republicans had a deal until Nancy Pelosi rode into town from her extended vacation. The Democrats want the Virus to win? They are asking for things that have nothing to do with our great workers or companies,” he tweeted.

Republicans had a deal until Nancy Pelosi rode into town from her extended vacation. The Democrats want the Virus to win? They are asking for things that have nothing to do with our great workers or companies. They want Open Borders & Green New Deal. Republicans shouldn’t agree!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 24, 2020

But both Mnuchin and Schumer downplayed questions about if Trump was raising concerns about their negotiations. Mnuchin suggested it was about ideas being floated by House Democrats, who introduced their own bill on Monday.

“He seemed very positive, very positive,” Schumer added.  

The two say they are at the cusp of a roughly $2 trillion dollar stimulus package that is expected to provide direct tax rebates to some Americans, bolster unemployment insurance, provide approximately $377 billion for small businesses and hundreds of billions for impacted industries like airlines. 

“I’m pleased that our two main issues, workers first and a Marshall Plan for hospitals, are very strongly in the bill,” Schumer told reporters early Tuesday morning.  

The forthcoming agreement will include $100 billion for hospitals, a source familiar with the talks told The Hill. 

“We expect to have an agreement tomorrow morning. There’s still a few little differences. Neither of us think they’re in any way going to get in the way of the final agreement,” Schumer added.  

White House legislative affairs director Eric Ueland said there were “not that many” issues left unresolved. Mnuchin added that staff were still busy drafting and reviewing language. 

“Still documents that are going to reviewed tonight and turned around. There’s still a couple of open issues, but I think we’re very hopeful that this can be closed out tomorrow,” he said.