The California Democrat specifically cited disagreements over the tax provisions as the reason for her current opinions, but made clear that the broader negotiations are nowhere near a positive solution, people said.
Pelosi and Mnuchin spoke on the phone Thursday afternoon, in the latest debate among the top incentive negotiators.
Pelosi’s framing of the private call earlier Thursday aligns with the criticism I made to Republicans during the stimulus negotiations for several months – that the Trump administration is simply not willing to do what is necessary on the fiscal side to address the depth of economic woes. Created by the pandemic.
Republicans say it is now up to Pelosi to confront the $ 1.6 trillion proposal Mnuchin put on the table on Wednesday, which takes hundreds of billions of dollars away from the $ 2.2 trillion plan that Democrats in the House of Representatives could vote on later Thursday.
Pelosi said during her weekly press conference that she “hopes that we can reach an agreement” on a bipartisan agreement, but nevertheless made clear that the two sides are not on the same page on the main issues.
“We’re kind of in the playing field about some things,” Pelosi said, but added, “we’re still a long way off in terms of state and local government.” She also said Democrats “have concerns about enough money to meet the unemployment insurance needs of the American people.”
Pelosi also indicated that it is likely that the House of Representatives will go ahead later Thursday with a vote on the Democratic proposal, which is not expected to be adopted by the Senate, which is controlled by the Republican Party.
“I hope we vote on it today,” Pelosi said of the legislation.
Both the White House and White House Democratic leaders are plagued by internal party divisions over how to move forward with the stimulus talks.
For months, moderate Democrats in the House of Representatives had been pressing their leadership to return to the table and reach an agreement with the White House on stimulus rather than moving forward with another package for Democrats only. Multiple sources familiar with CNN say that currently, dozens of Democratic House of Representatives could vote against the revised Democratic HEROES Act if it comes to the ground later on Thursday.
These talks are still far from leading to an agreement.
On the Senate side, Republican lawmakers are uncomfortable with reports that Mnuchin exceeds $ 1.5 trillion in his bid for Pelosi. Several Republican senators have told CNN that the number could be a major problem, forcing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to choose whether he is willing to put a bill on the ground losing a large number of its members.
“Anything over a trillion dollars is going to be tough,” said Senator Chuck Grassley, chair of the Senate Finance Committee and a Republican from Iowa. “There is real disgust among Republicans that over a trillion dollars and even a trillion dollars is really difficult.”
This story was updated with additional developments Thursday.
CNN’s Hayley Bird contributed to this report.
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