Stimulus: White House Economic Adviser Insists That GOP Senators Will Support New Bill

White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow claims that Republicans in the United States Senate will go along with any stimulus check plan with which the White House and Democrats can agree. As the White House has ramped up its negotiations with the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives, there has been some doubt about their bargaining power, as any bill would have to pass the Senate first. Appearing on CNN, Kudlow said that the Senate would pass a compromise, some senators have cast doubt on this claim.

Kudlow was on TV to tout the new $1.8 trillion stimulus proposal that Trump put forth without the support of Senate Republicans. So far, the senate majority has only agreed to as much as $1 trillion, and even that was a close vote. However, on Saturday a source close to the legislature told The Hill that several senators had “significant concerns” about the Trump proposal, which they have not signed off on. CNN anchor Jake Tapper also referenced “20 Senate Republicans who were mad at [Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin] and saying that the proposal of $1.8 trillion was way too much.”

“Republicans in the Senate put up their own bill a few weeks ago and got 53 votes, I think it was, so they united,” Kudlow said. “I think if an agreement can be reached, they will go along with it.”

Kudlow tried to shift the focus and blame to the Democrats, who turned down Trump’s new proposal this week, even as it creeps closer to their $2.2 trillion asking price. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi published an open letter to the U.S. Congress on Friday, outlining how the proposal fell short of the nation’s needs.

Kudlow called this letter “intransigence,” saying that Democrats should compromise on issues like unemployment aid, small business loans and other programs. He also wanted the opposition to agree to smaller, compartmentalized bills rather than one overall package.

“I think if we could get this thing settled on the Democrat side, we will get it settled on the Republican side,” he insisted. “There will still be further efforts of negotiation perhaps today but certainly this coming week.”

Kudlow also reiterated his belief that the U.S. economy is not “dependent on” a stimulus bill, though many other economists have disagreed, including Mnuchin. He did not address the president’s abrupt tweet about ending stimulus negotiations early last week, or his back-pedaling in the days that followed.