Senate Republicans are clashing with the White House over whether to include new money for coronavirus testing in the next relief package, which lawmakers estimate could swell to $2 trillion once Democratic demands are included.
The intraparty tension in the GOP could give Democrats leverage as congressional discussions intensify over the next couple weeks.
White House negotiators led by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows want to keep the size of the initial Republican offer to around $1 trillion. They’re balking at including another $25 billion for COVID-19 testing because states still haven’t spent much of the money Congress has already appropriated for testing. Congress appropriated $25 billion for testing in the $484 billion interim relief package Congress passed in April.