U.S. Democrats urge more coronavirus talks, say Trump can't solve problem by himself

The president can make all the claims he wants, he cannot solve this problem by executive order," Durbin said. White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow told Bloomberg TV on Friday that Trump would take executive action if there was no compromise on coronavirus relief.

Democrats in Congress urged the White House on Friday to join them again in negotiations on coronavirus economic relief, saying Republican President Trump cannot solve the problem by himself. After nearly two weeks of failing to make substantial progress, Trump has threatened to pull his negotiators out and instead issue executive orders to address the human and economic toll of a crisis that has killed more than 160,000 Americans and thrown tens of millions of people out of work.

"The president can make all the claims he wants, he cannot solve this problem by executive order," the U.S. Senate's number two Democrat, Dick Durbin, told MSNBC. "We have got to come together, we've got to do it in Congress. The president can make all the claims he wants, he cannot solve this problem by executive order," Durbin said.

White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow told Bloomberg TV on Friday that Trump would take executive action if there was no compromise on coronavirus relief. Kudlow said talks were at a stalemate but more were expected on Friday. U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer urged White House negotiators Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to meet them again on Friday.

They said a new jobs report showed a slowdown in job creation demonstrated the need for more aid. Pelosi told reporters that a call had been set up with the White House. “We have at least that much," she said.

She told MSNBC she was willing to negotiate on the duration of coronavirus relief as a way to cut costs. She also said Democrats want the biggest possible number for reviving an expired federal payment to the unemployed that had been $600 a week. Renewing that benefit has been a leading Democratic demand.

It was unclear how much the president could do without the approval of Congress, which has the spending power. The White House at one point suggested $400 a week in federal benefits for the unemployed, but Democrats rejected it and have refused to do a separate deal on that, saying they wanted a comprehensive package that also included money for state and local government and other matters.

Democrats have advocated for a $3 trillion-plus economic aid program while leading Republicans have proposed about a third of that. Congress passed more than $3 trillion in relief legislation early in the pandemic. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said a new boost is needed to help the U.S. economy, but some of his fellow Republicans oppose doing anything more.

Pelosi and Schumer have pushed for a comprehensive package of assistance for the unemployed, the poor, hospitals, schools, and state and local governments. 

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)