#Mnuchin, Pelosi at odds over COVID-19 stimulus, but near deal to avoid shutdown

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Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin (right) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
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Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi are still deadlocked on another coronavirus stimulus bill — but they expect to reach a deal this week on a continuing resolution to keep the government open past the end of the month.

“The speaker has refused to sit down and negotiate unless we agree to something like a $2.5 trillion deal in advance,” Mnuchin said on “Fox News Sunday.” “We put $3 trillion into the economy when the economy was completely shut down. We’ve now reopened the economy.”

The secretary suggested a “more targeted bill.”

“If we need to do more in 30 days, we’ll continue to do more. But let’s not hold up the American workers and American businesses that need more support,” Mnuchin said.

But he said he and Pelosi have agreed on averting a government shutdown and to keep it open until at least December.

“So, for now, the most important thing is to make sure at the end of the month, we don’t shutdown the government and we get something past the election,” he said, adding that it will be separate from the stimulus spending package.

But Pelosi, during an interview on MSNBC, blamed Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for hitting “pause” after House Democrats passed their own $3 trillion HEROES Act in May.

“We’re not doing anything. Now, could we have saved all of those people? Not all, but many. The number of people who have been infected has grown by the millions,” Pelosi said.

“We have to make sure the public knows how we can solve this, and why the administration is standing in the way of crushing the virus,” she said on “AM Joy.”