Japan has had more than 900 new Covid-19 cases for 10 days in a row
A three-hour meeting between senior administration officials and Democratic leaders yielded little progress tonight as both sides seemed resigned to the likelihood that Congress won’t reach a major stimulus deal amid an economic crisis.
Both sides emerged trading blame for the sputtering talks — and the administration officials warned that US President Donald Trump would take executive action if no deal is reached by Friday.
It’s unclear if the two sides will meet on Friday.
“We had a consequential meeting that was one way we could see the difference in values that we bring to the table,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said.
Pelosi said that White House chief of staff Mark Meadows slammed his hand on the table and stormed out of the room at one point, something that Meadows denied.
The differences remain as they have been: Democrats want to do “something big,” in the words of Pelosi, and the Trump administration wants a “skinny bill,” in the words of Meadows.
One of the biggest sticking points: Aid to state and local governments.
“We are very far apart — it’s most unfortunate,” Pelosi said.
Schumer said, “We are very disappointed in the meeting …They were unwilling to meet in the middle.”
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Meadows indicated they are “very far apart” on some major issues.
“I think there’s a lot of issues we are close to a compromise position on and I think there’s a handful of very big issues that we are still very far apart,” Mnuchin said.
Trump called the two officials three times during the meeting and urged them to continue negotiating, Meadows said.
Mnuchin said that if “they could conclude tomorrow without a deal,” Trump will take executive action.
