Watch live: Trump holds briefing as lawmakers try to strike a coronavirus relief package deal
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President Donald Trump is expected to hold a press briefing on Wednesday as Republicans and Democrats get closer to settling on the next coronavirus relief package.
Lawmakers have struggled to find common ground on the bill, with the parties remaining at odds over enhanced jobless benefits among other issues. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Monday said she doesn’t expect a deal to be struck this week.
But a meeting on Tuesday between Pelosi, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows seemed to yeild some results. Schumer told reporters after the meeting, “We’re making progress.”
Meadows and Mnuchin reportedly offered to grant federal unemployment insurance of $400 per week lasting into December and extend a moratorium on evictions from federally backed housing into December. Republicans had been offering $200 per week enhanced unemployment versus Democrats plan to maintain the $600 per week Americans had been receiving before the checks expired at the end of July.
The coronavirus outbreak has spread worldwide, with more than 18.6 million confirmed cases and over 702,164 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. has had more than 4.7 million cases and at least 157,186 deaths, according to the latest tallies, more than any other country.
— CNBC’s Jacob Pramuk contributed to this report.
