Trump eyes weekend executive order if coronavirus relief talks stall
By Morgan Chalfant - 08/06/20 01:15 PM EDT
President Trump said Thursday that he would likely move forward with an executive order on coronavirus relief later this week if the White House and Congress do not make progress in their negotiations.
Trump told reporters the executive order would come "probably tomorrow afternoon" or the following morning. He made the remarks at Joint Base Andrews before departing for a trip to Ohio for official and campaign business.
Trump acknowledged that a legislative deal was still possible, but the two sides remain far apart on both the top-line dollar amount and specific provisions of the legislation.
White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) are again set to meet on Capitol Hill Thursday evening to continue negotiations.
Both sides say that they want to reach an agreement on key issues by Friday, but Meadows emerged from talks on Wednesday saying negotiators were "trillions of dollars apart in terms of what Democrats and Republicans hopefully will ultimately compromise on."
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https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/510879-trump-eyes-weekend-executive-order-if-coronavirus-relief-talks-stall
