Trump approves ‘revised’ Covid-19 relief package, says ‘negotiations moving along’ ahead of treasury sec’s meeting with Pelosi

Negotiations are back on for Covid-19 relief, despite many worries that such assistance will not be able to pass until after the election, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow has revealed.

“He has approved a revised package. He would like to do a deal,” Kudlow, who is the Director of the United States National Economic Council, told Fox Business on Friday. 

Kudlow did not give specifics on the potential deal, but a Bloomberg report citing two people familiar with the negotiations says it is worth $1.8 trillion. Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin is set to meet with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-California) on Friday afternoon to begin talks. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, NASDAQ Composite, and S&P 500 all rose following Kudlow’s comments.

Previous negotiations between the White House and Democrats fell apart and there remains doubt any new deal can be reached. 

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) told reporters on Friday that a deal “in the next three weeks” is unlikely in his eyes.

“I’d like to see us rise above that like we did back in March and April, but I think that’s unlikely in the next three weeks,” he said.

The $1.8 trillion reportedly being offered now is higher than the $1.6 trillion package they previously proposed, but remains below the more than $2 trillion Democrats want. The White House and Democrats have not been able to come to an agreement on various specifics in potential deals, such as the amount of enhanced federal employment and economic relief to state and local governments.

Despite tweeting just this week that he was ending negotiations on a Covid-19 stimulus deal until after the election, President Donald Trump announced on Friday that “Covid relief negotiations are moving along. Go big!”

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