Pelosi Says Trump COVID-19 Diagnosis Adds Urgency to Stimulus Talks
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday that President Donald Trump's COVID-19 diagnosis might change the shape of stimulus talks.
Pelosi said she believes that with Trump's COVID-19 diagnosis, Republicans will "see the reality" of what the country is facing. She is also hopeful that the other side of stimulus talks can finally see what Democrats have been "saying all along."
Noting she'll pray for President Trump amid his COVID-19 diagnosis, she added that the coronavirus is a "vicious virus."
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Pelosi are still $700 billion apart during stimulus talks. But Pelosi is hopeful that the talks will continue, as House Democrats passed Thursday a $2.2 trillion stimulus bill.
On Friday, the House took its last votes of the week before their planned October recess, noted CNBC. They aren't expected to return until after elections.
According to Majority Leader Steny Hoyer's office, they will return to Washington to pass the aid bill and get 24 hours notice before a vote.
Pelosi Remains Hopeful
Pelosi also believed the diagnosis of the president might "speed up" the agreement. Despite the billions of dollars difference on the stimulus price tag, she is still "optimistic" that there will be a deal.
In a letter to House Democrats, she said: "Our negotiations with the Administration continue, and I am hopeful that we can reach an agreement."
She also outlined some sticking points in the talks, as reported by USA Today.
Some sticking points include unemployment insurance, funding for schools, states, and local government and child tax credits.
The negotiations also touched on testing and tracing funds and appropriations for Democratic priorities like transit funding.
Areas of Friction
White House economic adviser Stephen Moore told Business Insider that the White House and Democrats appear to becoming close to a compromise. But Moore added that Trump's diagnosis changed little on the bill.
He said both sides of the debate were closing in on differences on state aid and federal unemployment benefits. These two areas of the stimulus were major areas of friction.
"I think you could get a deal soon, even sooner than ten days," Moore said. He believed there was now a 65% chance there will be a deal in the next two weeks.
Moore said he advised Trump against a stimulus package two weeks ago. He argued that the benefits of it would only materialize by early next year.
But he also said Trump might look for a way in the next month to boost his reelection case.
Moore said Trump is in need of "victory" through the deal. "He thinks it'll help the country but also help him politically," Moore said.
In recent months, Republicans have looked for more COVID-19 relief, but a deal was proving itself hard to come by as Democrats' offer was expensive and held unreasonable demands.
While at Walter Reed National Medical Center on Saturday, Trump pushed for a deal while being treated for COVID-19.
"OUR GREAT USA WANTS & NEEDS STIMULUS. WORK TOGETHER AND GET IT DONE. Thank you!" he tweeted.
Check these out!
White House Increases Stimulus Offer to $1.6 Trillion
Trump, First Lady in Quarantine After Senior Aide Gets COVID-19
Second Stimulus: McConnell Says Negotiators are 'Very, Very Far Apart'
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