October 21 coronavirus news

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin Getty Images House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin engaged in fast-paced negotiations on Tuesday to cut a deal on a major relief package that could pass before Election Day — but Senate Republicans continued to throw cold water on any deal with the enormous price tag envisioned by Democrats and President Trump. Here are key things you need to know about the negotiations: The bottom line: If Pelosi is successful in getting Mnuchin and the White House to sign off on a nearly $2 trillion stimulus proposal and it gets drafted before the election, she’ll force the Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to decide if he’s willing to hold a vote ahead of the election at a time when putting anything in the ball park of $2 trillion is going to fracture the GOP and force members to say no to something that could benefit their constituents and buoy the President even if the price tag is far more than they are comfortable with. After years of sticking with Trump despite his antics and despite the fact that some of the President’s policies flew in the face of long-established GOP orthodoxy, the stimulus bill is the make or break moment where Republican senators may finally throw up their hands and tell Trump “no.” The negotiation according to the negotiators: If you are paying close attention to Pelosi’s tone over the last few days, you’ll notice she’s much more upbeat about a deal than perhaps we’ve seen in weeks or even months. GOP leadership aides and some Democratic aides involved tell CNN that they just don’t see that as much progress has been made as Pelosi and Mncuhin are laying out right now.