Trump Halts Stimulus Talks with Democrats

The President of the United States, Donald Trump, said on Tuesday that he has instructed the halt of stimulus talks between the Republicans and the Democrats until after the next elections, which take place on November 3.

“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,” Trump said in a tweet earlier.

The House of Representatives recently passed a $2.2 trillion stimulus package to help the American economy face the impact of the Coronavirus (COVID) pandemic.

The bill was passed by the Democratic majority in the house, however, objections from Republicans mean the relief package is not likely to pass the Senate, and it could also be vetoed by President Donald Trump, who announced on Friday that he and his wife have tested positive for the novel disease.

The Republican Party believes that the cost of the Democrats plan is too high.

Originally, the Republicans were aiming for a pack of $1 trillion or less, while the Democrats wanted a relief plan of more than $3 trillion.

According to Reuters, the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin discussed the new stimulus package on Friday.

Talks were set to continue, as per recent media reports.

More than $3 trillion of relief and stimulus measures have already been approved. However, as the situation of the pandemic did not improve in the United States, both parties know that the troubled economy and millions of families who lost their primary income source need new support.

President of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, James Bullard, recently warned that a growing number of bankruptcies due to the COVID-19 outbreak could lead to a financial crisis, while President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, Neel Kashkari, said on Friday that the road to economic recovery is long and challenging. “We are a long way from recovering the job market that we had back in January and February.”

If Congress fails to pass more relief, more small businesses will suffer and the recovery will slow further, according to Kashkari.