President Donald Trump said that he was open to more stimulus spending for pandemic relief in stalled talks with congressional Democrats, Bloomberg News reported. Trump, at a White House press conference yesterday, said that he liked “the larger numbers” in a compromise $1.5 trillion stimulus proposal from a bipartisan group of House lawmakers that was an effort to break a months-long deadlock over bolstering the U.S. economy amid the coronavirus pandemic. The plan from a 50-member group of House Democrats and Republicans has a bigger total spending figure than the administration previously endorsed. It’s also higher than what Senate GOP leaders say would be acceptable to Republicans. But Trump, on Twitter earlier yesterday, urged Republican lawmakers to accept a higher level of spending than the last proposal made by the Senate GOP. After initially proposing a $1 trillion stimulus at the end of July, Senate Republicans attempted to advance a bill providing $650 billion in economic aid, without the direct payments to individuals that the president — and Democrats — want.
