Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin are reportedly close to a deal that would provide coronavirus relief for small businesses.
Aides told The Hill they expect Schumer and Mnuchin to make a deal this week. This could be passed by the Senate Thursday and pushed through the House shortly thereafter.
GOP aides said they anticipate Republicans will relent to Democratic demands when the Small Business Administration requests more money for the White House-touted Paycheck Protection Program. The program has granted nearly one million applications for $228 billion worth of loans for small business forced to close during the pandemic.
This pressure is expected to lead Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who reportedly isn't interested in directly negotiating with Democratic leadership, to accept Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's demands for an extra $150 billion for states and $100 billion for hospitals.
If a deal goes through, McConnell and Pelosi may push the bill through their respective chambers via a unanimous consent agreement. Moving forward with a deal would prevent Congress from having to show up to the Capitol next week to vote on a relief deal. Both sides of Congress are working from home due to the coronavirus pandemic. House Majority Leader Rep. Steny Hoyer said Monday that the House likely won't return to D.C. until May.
Contains footage fromCNN.
