‘Get it done!’ Trump presses after lawmakers reportedly strike deal on COVID relief package

Lawmakers emerged late Saturday night from a long day of negotiations to express optimism they had reached a compromise that could clear the way for Congress to vote Sunday a $900 billion COVID-19 relief package.

President Trump used Twitter on Sunday morning to keep the pressure on.  

 

“Why isn’t Congress giving our people a Stimulus Bill? It wasn’t their fault, it was the fault of China,” he tweeted. “GET IT DONE, and give them more money in direct payments.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he believed lawmakers had reached compromise language that would resolve questions about Federal Reserve responsibilities that had been raised earlier in the day by Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Pat Toomey. Schumer said he was hopeful legislation could be voted on Sunday.

"It looks like we'll be able to," he said. "If things continue on this path and nothing gets in the way, we'll be able to vote tomorrow."

The negotiations suffered a hiccup earlier in the day when Toomey demanded lawmakers terminate three federal lending programs run by the Fed that were created in March to help credit markets function during the first wave of economic shutdowns caused by the coronavirus.

"We’ve never asked the Fed to engage in fiscal policy or social policy, or to allocate credit based on political standing," the Republican complained.