White House officials are pushing for a COVID-19 relief package to be finalized within the next 48 hours. White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows has publicly been on the forefront of this sudden push.
“I am optimistic. We do share one goal and that is hopefully to get some kind of deal in the next 48 hours or so,” Meadows said during a recent interview.
Meadows added that discussions between the White House and Democratic leaders have entered a "new phase" after weeks of negotiations. The main source of contention between the White House and Democratic officials has been state and local assistance.
“I can tell you that the negotiations have entered a new phase, which is more on the technical side of trying to get the language right if we can agree upon the numbers,” Meadows added.
“We are still apart, still a number of issues to work on, but the last 24 hours have moved the ball down the field.”
Joining Meadows, White House Communications Direct Alyssa Farah has said also said that there has been "some movement" on a potential deal between Democrats and the White House.
"The president's position is we're willing to go up on the number for PPP [Paycheck Protection Program] loans and the direct payments,” Farah said.
“Some of the issues still surround state and local and some of the other issues but we're at the table, conversations are happening. I think it's kind of the best place we've been in, so cautious optimism."
Running in opposition of the White House's urgency, Senate Republicans have been vocal about their opposition to the proposed $1.8 trillion deal. Specifically, he has been vague about whether or not he would put forth a Trump-supported bill to the Senate floor before the election.
"If a presidentially supported bill clears the House, at some point we'll bring it to the floor," he said.
Despite traces of discord within the Republican party, President Donald Trump has said that his party will come to an agreement sooner rather than later.
"Now, not every Republican agrees with me, but they will."
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