Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is providing more insight into the ongoing negotiations between Democrats and Republicans over the next coronavirus relief package, and he is not too optimistic.
Appearing on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street,” Mnuchin weighed in on how President Donald Trump is still moving ahead with his executive order on unemployment relief amid opposition from Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).
“The good news is we’re moving forward, the president’s EO on unemployment. We now have many states that are moving through that process. We have, looks like, five states that have already been approved. We have another four states that have submitted and about another 10 states that are in the process,” Mnuchin said.
He added, “The good news is despite Congress not acting, because Pelosi and Schumer aren’t willing to sit down and strike a reasonable deal, the president moved forward with the EO to help people who are still unemployed.”
Watch his comments below:
“Hopefully since Speaker Pelosi is coming back to look at postal, hopefully she’ll be more interested in sitting down.” Treasury Sec. Mnuchin weighs in on stimulus negotiations, supporting small businesses, the U.S. Postal Service and more. https://t.co/PkidOQsvGc pic.twitter.com/voDpw2ekUG
— CNBC (@CNBC) August 18, 2020
The president signed the executive order on Aug. 8 after lawmakers could not reach a deal on the next stimulus bill, as IJR previously reported.
Under the executive order, Americans could receive as much as $400. States can offer unemployment insurance claimants an additional $300 in unemployment benefits per week without them spending extra money, or they can provide claimants with $400 if they choose to pay an additional $100 through their separate funds or Coronavirus Relief funds.
Host Jim Cramer suggested a majority of states may be able to come up with the $100.
“I would expect that, you know, most of the states qualify and they can use their $100 they’re paying for unemployment insurance to qualify to get at least another $300 from the federal government,” Mnuchin said.
He continued, “I hope we see the majority of the states, and hopefully since Speaker Pelosi is coming back to look at postal, hopefully, she’ll be more interested in sitting down.”
Pelosi is mulling the possibility of calling lawmakers back from summer recess to discuss changes being made at the Postal Service, as IJR previously reported.