Trump administration is open to restarting stimulus talks and Mnuchin says they can ‘put more money on the table’
TREASURY Secretary Steven Mnuchin revealed on Monday that the Trump administration is willing to "put more money on the table" during coronavirus relief talks with Democrats to reach an agreement.
As talks of the second round of stimulus checks continue, Mnuchin revealed to CNBC that President Trump "is determined to spend what we need to spend."
"I think that the number, the , is related more to the unemployment rate. If the unemployment goes down, then that number can go down," Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi told CNN over the weekend.
At his weekly Senate Republican leadership press conference, to budge on the newly proposed stimulus package.
"Wherever this thing settles between the president of the and his team, who has to sign it into law, and the Democrat, not insignificant minority in the Senate and majority in the House, is something I'm prepared to support," he said.
The Democrats are reportedly refusing to accept anything less than the return of the $600 unemployment checks.
On Monday, Mnuchin said he and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows would restart the discussions with Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
Democratic leaders seemed "willing to compromise", Mnuchin said.
The Treasury Secretary once again said that if an agreement is made, they would want to do it this week.
Over the weekend, President Trump signed an executive order extending federal unemployment insurance, reduced to $400 per week.
CNBC reported that the federal government would cover 75% of the payment and states would cover the other 25%.
According to Mnuchin, states should have enough money to cover the cost.
Officials in Washington allegedly don't see the execuive order as a permanent fix.
The president’s actions also call on administration officials to consider stopping evictions from federally-backed housing and help renters with aid payments. He did not continue a moratorium on evictions that lapsed late last month.