Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin said Sunday that Republicans intend to begin working this week on a continuing resolution to keep the government from shutting down and will separately advance a “targeted” coronavirus-related stimulus package this week.
While Republicans and Democrats remain at odds over the right approach to coronavirus-related stimulus, Mr. Mnuchin told Fox News Sunday that he and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have agreed on a path to avoid a government shutdown before the November election.
“We haven’t agreed on the specific details, but my expectation would be [the funding will last] through the beginning of December, that’s what we did this year,” Mr. Mnuchin told Fox. “For now, the most important thing is that at the end of the month we don’t shut down the government and we get something passed the election.”
Mr. Mnuchin said he and Mrs. Pelosi have agreed generally on pursuing a clean continuing resolution, with another shutdown showdown looming between the election and next presidential inauguration.
Mr. Mnuchin told Fox News Sunday that the Trump administration also wants to provide more stimulus but has hit an impasse with Mrs. Pelosi.
“Where we’re really stuck is both on certain policy issues but more importantly on the topline,” Mr. Mnuchin told Fox. “The Speaker has refused to sit down and negotiate unless we agree to something like a two-and-a-half trillion-dollar deal in advance. … Let’s do a more targeted bill now if we need to do more in thirty days, we’ll continue to do more.”
Mr. Mnuchin also said President Trump’s economic plans will lower the unemployment rate that skyrocketed during the coronavirus outbreak back down to three or four percent in early 2021, if the president is reelected in November.
