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During a call-in interview with conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh on Friday afternoon, President Trump reversed course on the statements he made earlier this week, in which he bluntly shut down any chance of a stimulus package happening before the presidential election. Now, the president wants a package to move through Congress quickly. To Limbaugh, he said he wants a “bigger stimulus package, frankly, than either the Democrats or Republicans are offering.”
Trump’s comments came hours after the latest report that his White House would be proposing a $1.8 trillion package as a compromise to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s $2.2 trillion proposed package. The White House had previously offered a $1.6 trillion package.
Here’s what you need to know:
Mnuchin & Pelosi Are Expected to Negotiate on The New $1.8 Trillion Stimulus Proposal Today
According to multiple reports, Mnuchin is expected to present this new $1.8 trillion proposal to Pelosi this afternoon. Earlier in the afternoon, Trump signified his support for these renewed negotiations, tweeting, “Covid Relief Negotiations are moving along. Go Big!”
Pelosi has not given a statement indicating how she feels about the $1.8 trillion proposal. However, she did speak on ABC’s The View earlier this week about Trump’s sudden change of heart regarding stimulus negotiations.
“It’s hard to see any clear sane path on what he’s doing but the fact is, he saw the political downside of his statement of walking away from the negotiations,” Pelosi said. “He’s rebounding from a terrible mistake he made yesterday and the Republicans in Congress are going down the drain with him on that.”
Pelosi continued, “But I will say this, it is really important for us to come to this agreement. When the president just popped off and made that announcement without even informing us that that was the case, he insulted the Constitution of the United States.”
The White House also may not have the crucial support of the Republican-controlled Senate, when it comes to the new proposal. On Friday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell spoke to reporters in his home state of Kentucky about the stimulus negotiations, describing them as a game of people playing for “political advantage.” He added, via NBC, “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.”
A Timeline of Trump’s 180-Degree Change of Heart About Stimulus Package
On Tuesday, after months of publicly supporting stimulus negotiations on Capitol Hill, Trump announced abruptly that he was ending the negotiations until after the presidential election. He tweeted, “I have instructed my representatives to stop negotiating until after the election when, immediately after I win, we will pass a major Stimulus Bill that focuses on hardworking Americans and Small Business.”
Stocks plummeted following the announcement. A day later, he appeared to change course slightly, by tweeting his support for a number of standalone stimulus bills. He wrote, “The House & Senate should IMMEDIATELY Approve 25 Billion Dollars for Airline Payroll Support, & 135 Billion Dollars for Paycheck Protection Program for Small Business. Both of these will be fully paid for with unused funds from the Cares Act. Have this money. I will sign now!”
He also signified his support for a standalone bill for stimulus checks, saying he would sign that bill “immediately.” Pelosi quickly shot down that idea.
By today, three days after he said he was fully ending all stimulus negotiations, Trump’s interview with Limbaugh reflect a 180-degree change of heart.
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