Trump faces divisions with Senate GOP on virus aid

McConnell and House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy huddled with Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and acting chief of staff Mark Meadows. Mnuchin vowed passage by month's end, as earlier benefits expire, and said he expected the fresh USD 1 trillion jolt of business tax breaks and other aid would have a “big impact” on the struggling economy.

President Donald Trump insisted "good things" were underway on the next COVID-19 aid package Monday as he met with Republican congressional leaders, but new divisions between the Senate GOP and the White House posed fresh challenges as the crisis worsened and emergency relief was expiring. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has been prepared to roll out the USD 1 trillion package in a matter of days. But the administration criticized more virus testing money and interjected other priorities that could complicate quick passage.

"We've made a lot of progress on that, and the discussions are going on," Trump said as the meeting got underway. Lawmakers were returning to a Capitol still off-limits to tourists, another sign of the nation's difficulty containing the coronavirus. Rather than easing, the pandemic's devastating cycle is rising again, leaving Congress little choice but to engineer another costly rescue. Businesses are shutting down again, many schools will not fully reopen and jobs are disappearing, all while federal aid expires.

Without a successful federal strategy, lawmakers are trying to draft one. "We have to end this virus," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Monday on MSNBC.

Pelosi said any attempt by the White House to block money for testing "goes beyond ignorance." The political stakes are high for both parties before the November election, and even more so for the nation, which now has registered more coronavirus infections and a higher death count of 140,500 than any other country. McConnell and House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy huddled with Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and acting chief of staff Mark Meadows.

Mnuchin vowed passage by month's end, as earlier benefits expire, and said he expected the fresh USD 1 trillion jolt of business tax breaks and other aid would have a "big impact" on the struggling economy. Mnuchin said he's preparing to start talks with Democrats. He and Meadows were headed to the Hill later to brief lawmakers.

"We can't pass the bill in the Senate without the Democrats and we're going to talk to them as well," McConnell agreed. The package from McConnell had been quietly crafted behind closed doors for weeks and was expected to include USD 75 billion to help schools reopen, reduced unemployment benefits and a fresh round of direct $1,200 cash payments to Americans, and a sweeping five-year liability shield against coronavirus lawsuits.