Trump indicates he's willing to increase his stimulus offer to Democrats beyond $1.8 trillion, saying he wants to 'go big or go home'
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Trump indicated on Thursday he was willing to increase his latest stimulus offer to Democrats.
"Go big or go home," he said in a Fox Business interview.
The president has increased his calls for a large stimulus package, though he could be on a collision course with Senate Republicans reluctant to back significant federal spending to prop up the economy.
President Donald Trump indicated on Thursday that he was willing to increase his stimulus offer to an amount larger than $1.8 trillion, which Democrats rejected as insufficient.
"I would," the president responded after being asked in a Fox Business interview if he'd raise his latest stimulus offer. "Go big or go home."
The White House plan includes another round of $1,200 direct payments among other measures both Republicans and Democrats say is needed to prop up the economy.
Trump said he hasn't signed onto the $2.2 trillion spending plan that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is pushing for because he contended it contained numerous measures unrelated to the pandemic. "She wants money for things you could — your pride couldn't let it happen," he said.
"We like stimulus, we want stimulus. We think we should have stimulus," he said, adding that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin "has not come home with the bacon."
The White House and Treasury Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump's remarks come as stimulus negotiations between the White House and Democrats crawled along this week with few signs of progress. He's stepped up his calls for a large aid package with three weeks to go until Election Day.
"STIMULUS! Go big or go home!!!" Trump wrote in a tweet Tuesday.
Democrats rebuffed the administration's $1.8 trillion stimulus offer it made last week, saying it did not include a national testing strategy or enough funding for state and local governments as well as unemployment benefits, among other issues.
Mnuchin, however, said in a CNBC interview the White House was ready to agree to Pelosi's demands on coronavirus testing.
"When I speak to Pelosi today I'm going to tell her that we're not going to let the testing issue stand in the way, that we'll fundamentally agree with their testing language subject to some minor issues," he said.
Trump also tried casting blame on Democrats for inaction on a deal in the Fox Business interview, though any compromise needs to garner support from Senate Republicans to make it to his desk.
So far, many Republican senators have indicated they are reluctant to back large relief spending initiatives, a hurdle that could end up torpedoing an agreement.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell recently announced he's putting a roughly $500 billion aid bill up for a vote shortly after the chamber reconvenes on October 19. At an event in Kentucky, he was asked about Trump's repeated demands to "go big" on a stimulus package.
"I'm proposing what we think is appropriate," he responded. During another appearance, McConnell said he wouldn't put a negotiated package on the Senate floor, effectively nixing a stimulus agreement with a price tag of $1.8 trillion or above.
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