Senate Republicans are pouring cold water on approving a multitrillion-dollar stimulus deal as Trump pushes for a larger relief package than Democrats'
Senate Republicans are chilly on the prospects of approving a multitrillion-dollar stimulus deal.
"I think we're going to have a hard time finding 13 votes for anything," Majority Whip John Thune said on Monday, referring to the number of GOP votes needed to pass stimulus legislation if all 47 Democratic senators support it.
President Donald Trump has continued to call for a larger stimulus package, saying in a Fox News phone interview on Tuesday that he "would be willing to go more" than the $2.2 trillion Democrats seek.
Senate Republicans are throwing cold water on approving a multitrillion-dollar stimulus deal as President Donald Trump calls for a larger coronavirus relief package from Democrats.
Negotiations between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin have crawled along, with another conversation scheduled for Tuesday, the deadline that the speaker set to make a deal before the election.
Democrats and the Trump administration would still have to bridge significant differences on major issues like cost, federal unemployment benefits, and tax credits. The White House has proposed $1.8 trillion in further relief spending, while House Democrats passed a $2.2 trillion economic aid package earlier this month.
But some Senate Republicans have said few are inclined to back a huge spending bill even if it has Trump's blessing. Any stimulus legislation with the support of all 47 Democratic-voting senators would require 13 Republicans to join them to pass it.
Read more: Why Republicans think it's OK to punt on the stimulus before the election
The GOP's "natural instinct, depending on how big it is and what's in it, is probably going to be to be against it," Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the majority whip, told reporters on Monday. "I think we're going to have a hard time finding 13 votes for anything."
Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin said a stimulus package costing $1.8 trillion or more was "way too high."
Others said they'd need to consider the contents of the relief legislation before deciding how to vote. "I'd have to see what it is, but that's pretty high," Sen. John Hoeven of North Dakota told CNN on Monday.
Trump said again on Tuesday that he would be willing to support a package larger than $2.2 trillion.
"I would be willing to go more," he said in a Fox News phone interview. "The government, it gets the money back ultimately anyway, and it's better than unemployment and all the costs associated with the alternative."
He added, "We're talking about money going to the American people that got hurt and shouldn't have been hurt."
Senate Republicans are moving in the opposite direction and may be on a collision course with Trump.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has rejected spending the amounts under consideration and suggested last week that he wouldn't put a deal on the floor for a vote. He said on Saturday that the Senate would "consider" a bipartisan relief bill, without elaborating.
Senators are set to vote on Tuesday on renewing the Paycheck Protection Program to aid small businesses, then on a $500 billion economic aid bill on Wednesday. Democrats are likely to reject both as insufficient piecemeal measures.
There is substantial public support for a sizable government rescue package. In a New York Times/Siena College poll released Tuesday, 72% of respondents said they would back a $2 trillion federal relief plan to extend enhanced unemployment insurance, send additional stimulus checks to Americans, and provide aid to state and local governments. Only 21% said they would oppose it.
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