After finger-pointing and fury, a bipartisan agreement appears closer on massive rescue package.
Senate leaders and the Trump administration neared bipartisan agreement Monday night on a massive stimulus bill that could inject $2 trillion into the economy to blunt the impacts of the coronavirus.
After a day of partisan rancor and posturing on Capitol Hill, the outlook grew markedly more positive later in the afternoon, when offers and counteroffers were exchanged. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) convened Democrats on a conference call and told them he was hopeful about striking a deal by the end of the day, according to a person familiar with the call who spoke on the condition of anonymity to reveal details.
Schumer was very upbeat, according to another Democrat, who listened into the call and spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe it. Some senators encouraged Schumer to announce a deal in principle Monday evening, but several issues remained unresolved.
So after hours of negotiations that wrapped up shortly before midnight, Schumer and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin prepared to leave the Capitol without a deal in hand, but optimistic they could announce one Tuesday morning.
“Secretary Mnuchin called the president, we told him we were very, very close to an agreement; he seemed very happy with that and wanted us to try to — get us to get it done tomorrow,” Schumer told reporters.
Mnuchin said there are “still documents that are going to be reviewed tonight and are going to be turned around,” but added that he was “very hopeful” of a deal Tuesday morninng…
Read the full piece from The Washington Post here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2020/03/23/trump-coronavirus-senate-economic-stimulus/
