Donald Trump to try going it alone on coronavirus aid after talks with Congress break down
- Treasury secretary and White House chief of staff to push for executive orders on unemployment benefits, evictions and other pandemic issues
- No breakthrough on new Covid-19 legislation after weeks of negotiations
White House officials trying to broker a deal on new coronavirus legislation will advise US President Donald Trump to act on his own to deliver relief to Americans suffering from the pandemic, after talks with top Democrats in Congress broke down on Friday.
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said they would recommend that Trump issue executive orders over the weekend to resume enhanced unemployment benefits, reinstate a moratorium on evictions and address other issues.
“The president would like us to make a deal. But unfortunately we did not make any progress today,” Mnuchin told reporters after he and Meadows met House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer for nearly 90 minutes on Capitol Hill.
The global pandemic has taken a particularly heavy toll on the United States, where it has killed more than 160,000 people and thrown tens of millions out of work. Trump initially played down the disease’s threat and has drawn criticism for inconsistent messages on public health steps such as social distancing and masks.
Friday’s talks appeared to mark the end of nearly two weeks of almost daily closed-door negotiations between the four leaders, who have sought to hammer out an agreement on legislation to resume Covid-19 relief programmes that expired at the end of July.
