White House Adviser: Trump May Offer Stimulus Package Larger Than Democrats’ Proposal

White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow speaks during an event at the White House in Washington, on April 7, 2020. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said Senate Republicans will “go along with” the White House, adding that the Trump administration may offer a stimulus package worth more than what Democrats had proposed.

President Donald Trump “would actually go beyond what some of the Democratic numbers are,” Kudlow told CNN on Sunday morning. “He might not do it for the entire package but for those key targeted areas that would truly help the recovery, by the way: Get kids back to school and reopen businesses.”

When he was asked about resistance from GOP Republicans in the Senate—some of whom have resisted a larger stimulus package—Kudlow said they might support an agreement if it is bipartisan.

“Don’t forget, Republicans in the Senate put up their own bill a few weeks ago and got 53 votes, I think it was, so they united,” he said. “I think if an agreement can be reached, they will go along with it.”

He also criticized Democrats in Congress, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), for their “intransigence” over funding unemployment assistance, small business loans, and stimulus checks. Trump has suggested passing individual bills

“I think if we could get this thing settled on the Democrat side, we will get it settled on the Republican side,” he said. “There will still be further efforts of negotiation perhaps today but certainly this coming week.” Kudlow then stressed: “The D’s are holding this thing up,” referring to Democrats.

(L): Treasury Department Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin in Washington on Sept. 24, 2020. (Toni L. Sandys-Pool/Getty Images); (R): House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) at the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center in Washington on Sept. 18, 2020. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

After making that assertion, Kudlow said that U.S. economic recovery is not contingent on the passage of another stimulus measure.

It came after Pelosi on Saturday rejected a $1.8 trillion offer from Republicans, saying it does not provide enough funding to testing, worker safety, and child care.

Describing the package as “one step forward, two steps back,” Pelosi said that “when the president talks about wanting a bigger relief package, his proposal appears to mean that he wants more money at his discretion to grant or withhold, rather than agreeing on language prescribing how we honor our workers, crush the virus and put money in the pockets of workers.”

“At this point, we still have disagreement on many priorities,“ she added. ”And Democrats are awaiting language from the administration on several provisions as the negotiations on the overall funding amount continue.”