US President Donald Trump Wants to Strike a Broad Stimulus Deal

President Donald Trump has allegedly told his allies that he wants a large-scale stimulus deal. According to an unnamed source that is said to have direct knowledge of the president's comments, it is not clear what President Trump means about a broad stimulus deal and what his idea of it would entail.

Broad stimulus package

Since the first stimulus package was distributed to all American taxpayers, a second stimulus package's future has been bleak. The Democrats and the Republicans in the Senate can't seem to reach into an agreement, and despite having several talks, they've been stuck in the same place for months.

Earlier this week, President Trump announced that he would end talks regarding the second stimulus deal. He would like to wait for the results of the November elections before continuing, according to BBC.

However, on October 9, things took a turn as insiders say he is actually interested in having a broader stimulus deal.

According to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, President Trump is now interested in opening the negotiations again for a new stimulus package, as Bloomberg reported.

Also Read: No Stimulus Check Yet? Here's What You Need to Know

According to Pelosi's deputy chief of staff, Drew Hammill, the discussion about President Trump's change of mind happened through a phone call between Mnuchin and Speak Nancy Pelosi.

However, Pelosi was skeptical, as, before the call, another White House official contradicted the assertion. But Mnuchin assured Pelosi that President Trump was interested in a comprehensive deal, meaning the talks about another stimulus package is back on.

Unemployment in America

The stakes are high as the pandemic left millions of Americans unemployed for months. The government is now doing the best they can to give the American taxpayers funds while also trying to keep the business sector, the public health sector, and the school sector afloat.

On October 6, President Trump took Twitter his decision to call off the stimulus talks. Eight hours later, he called for piecemeal legislation to address the pandemic's economic hurdle. After 48 hours, Mnuchin then called Pelosi that the stimulus negotiation is back on.

Despite the Trump administration going back and forth with the deal, the main issue remains: Congressional Republicans refused to approve the $2.2 trillion proposals given by Democrats.

According to CNBC, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell agreed with President Trump's decision to call off the negotiations earlier this week.

McConnell said that Republicans are uncomfortable with the direction that the negotiations had been heading. McConnell added that the day to day discussion was "confusing" for them to follow.

Meanwhile, Pelosi has made it clear that the crisis scale requires massive investment as it affected both the economic and the public health side of things.

The House passed a $2.2 trillion measure just last week, and the Republicans proposed a $500 billion bill last month, which was blocked by the Democrats.

This week, Mnuchin countered it and put $1.6 trillion on the negotiation table. Still, Pelosi made it clear that she would not go below $2 trillion due to the scale of problems in the country that needs to be addressed, and the budget that the Republicans want to set for the stimulus package is not enough.