Stimulus talks resume, but deal is doubtful before Trump leaves

The first round of negotiations since Election Day for a new coronavirus stimulus package kicked off on Tuesday, but a deal that ticks all the boxes and can get bipartisan approval remains a long shot.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin discussed COVID relief and other end-of-session items, including a $1.4 trillion catchall government funding bill. Mnuchin told reporters as he arrived at a Senate Banking Committee hearing to assess earlier COVID rescue efforts that he and Pelosi are focused primarily on the unfinished appropriations bills, however.

“On COVID relief, we acknowledged the recent positive developments on vaccine development and the belief that it is essential to significantly fund distribution efforts to get us from vaccine to vaccination,” Pelosi said afterward.

“There’s more work to be done,” Mnuchin said on Capitol Hill. “I’d urge Congress to pass something quickly to make sure we get something done.”

Even though all sides agree more help is needed to boost the sputtering economy, hopes are slim that a deal will be reached before President Trump leaves office. However, a bipartisan group of moderates Tuesday put forward a proposal worth about $900 billion. It includes a slimmeddown grab bag of measures popular with both parties designed to keep the economy moving into next year.

In a possible sign that Democrats are ready to compromise, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) pointedly did not reject the proposal out of hand. “This is a good effort. I haven’t seen all the details ... but when Democrats and Republicans can get together that’s a good thing,” Schumer said.