President Trump Willing To Meet On Coronavirus Stimulus With Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer

President Trump said Monday he would be willing to meet with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on the next round of coronavirus stimulus legislation but doubts the two are really want to make a deal.

At a wide-ranging White House news conference, Trump accused Democratic leaders of blocking any action that would be good for the economy.

“If it’s good for the economy, it’s good for me for the election,” Trump said.

Talks between the White House and Democrats broke off shortly after provisions in the CARES Act expired July 31. Negotiators were at least $1 trillion apart when talks broke down, the White House insisting it did not want to spend more than $1 trillion on the next round of stimulus.

In May, House Democrats passed a more than $3 trillion package, but as negotiations dragged on, indicated they would be willing to lop off about $1 trillion from the price tag.

Since talks broke down, Democrats have accused the White House of not recognizing the dire situation confronting Americans whose jobs have been lost to the coronavirus pandemic.

Trump rejected the assumption that there’s no hope for a deal but said he’s not meeting with Pelosi or Schumer because “I know who I’m dealing with.”

“I know when it’s time to meet with people. … I don’t have to meet with them to know what’s going on. If I thought it would make a difference, I’d do it in a minute,” Trump told reporters.

Trump accused Democratic leaders of wanting the country to do “as badly for possible. It’s good for the Democrats.”

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Sunday both he and Trump favor further stimulus.

“The president and I believe we should do more stimulus,” Mnuchin said on “Fox News Sunday.” “We have about 7 1/2 million jobs we need to get back until we’re back to where we were, and we want to help small businesses. We want to help businesses that are particularly impacted by this, and we’ll continue to work on proposed new legislation.”

In a statement Monday, Pelosi said the administration is ignoring “the scale of the crisis and refus[ing] to lift a finger to help working families.”

“We must act quickly and decisively to defeat the virus, provide critical financial relief to state and local governments to preserve jobs, and keep workers safe with strong OSHA [Occupational Health and Safety Administration] protections. During this difficult moment for America, Democrats remain steadfast in our commitment to delivering the support and relief hard-working Americans need and deserve as we build on our achievements and advance an economy that works for everyone,” she said.

Congress ends its summer recess next week. Among the issues still to be resolved before any stimulus package can be passed is how much federal aid can be distributed to those thrown out of work by the pandemic. The CARES Act provided $600 a week. The initial Republican counteroffer was for $200, and President Trump signed an executive order providing for $300, but that money also is about to run out.

Democrats and the White House have agreed on a continuing resolution to keep the government from shutting down when the new budget year begins Oct. 1.