Trump White House ‘very focused’ on sending second stimulus checks to Americans after $1,200 payment ‘worked very well’
THE White House is “very focused” on delivering a second round of stimulus checks to Americans after they “worked very well” last time.
Speaking at a press conference Thursday, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said: “We’re going to seriously consider whether we need to do more direct payments. Worked very well.”
In addition to recognizing the 4.8 million US jobs added in June, Mnuchin said the Trump administration is working to pass a bi-partisan coronavirus relief package before August.
The push for an additional economic stimulus payment comes as the United States is being struck hard by the coronavirus pandemic, with more than 128,000 fatalities so far.
And parts of the US are returning to shut-downs of businesses, which will once again financially hit employers – and staff.
Mnuchin, the lead White House negotiator on the first package, explained that he’s “having conversations with certain members of Democrats and Republicans to get ideas.”
“Our position is that legal Americans — American citizens — should get the payments. That’s our focus,” he said.
“If people are here illegally, they’re not going to get economic payments.”
He appeared optimistic in getting “people back to work safely,” adding: “There is a safe way to reopen the economy, and we’re going to do it carefully.”
Earlier this week, financial experts said a second round of stimulus checks now appears “almost inevitable” as coronavirus continues to ravage America.
President Trump recently told an interviewer that he supports another round of direct economic stimulus payments similar to the $1,200 checks issued to most people earlier this year.
When asked about a possible second check on Scripps news, he confirmed: “Yeah, we are. We are.
“We will be doing another stimulus package. It will be very good. It will be very generous.”
But Trump didn’t reveal the possible check amounts.
Back in June, Mnuchin said that while the White House was considering a second round of stimulus payments, it was too early to speculate on what would be included in the package.
Congress passed the first round of checks nearly unanimously in March as part of a coronavirus response bill, at a cost of almost $300 billion.
The aid was essential as coronavirus lockdowns brought the economy to a near standstill, both parties said back then.
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House Democrats are fully onboard with another round, having included direct payments in a more than $3 trillion measure that they pushed through the House in May.
Despite the President’s support, views in the Republican party are more mixed.