Trump Wants To Send Cash To Americans Suffering Financially From Coronavirus

Trump wants IMMEDIATE cash handouts for Americans: Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says everyone will get MORE THAN $1,000 within two weeks once he strikes Senate deal - and tax payments are deferred for 90 days too

Donald Trump wants to send cash to Americans suffering from the coronavirus crisis immediately he said at the White House Tuesday.

'The payroll tax holiday would get money to people over the next six to eight months. We're looking to send checks to Americans immediately,' explained Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in the press briefing room. 'Americans needs cash now and the president wants to give cash now.'

'And I mean now - in the next two weeks,' Mnuchin added.

Precise details weren't announced at the press conference.

Mnuchin said he was previewing the plan with Capitol Hill Republicans and would reveal more later, but he suggested the amount could be more than $1,000. There would also be some income cut-offs. 'You don't need to send people who make a million dollars a year checks,' he said.

Trump said of his administration's stimulus plans: 'We're going big.'

The economy has spiraled since the coronavirus outbreak reached American shores. In Ohio alone, unemployment claims went from 6,500 last week to 45,000 this week, according to numbers given to reporters by Sen. Rob Portman's office.

After his meeting with Senate Republicans on Capitol Hill Tuesday, Mnuchin floated that the White House wanted to se $1 trillion injected into the American economy.

Mnuchin said this would be a combination of loans and 'direct checks,' like the ones he described at the White House earlier.

Beyond giving cash to Americans, Mnuchin said tax payments can also be deferred for 90 days.

After meeting with Mnuchin, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that he planned to have the Senate vote on a bill that was passed in the House on Saturday, which had been a collaboration between the White House and House Democrats.

The cash handouts would come as part of a third bill passed to deal with coronavirus' effects on the American economy - one that would be worked out between the White House and Senate Republicans first.

Senate Democrats then would be brought into the fold, McConnell explained.

The White House sped up its embrace of a universal basic income-like stimulus after economic adviser Larry Kudlow told DailyMail.com Monday the administration 'might' get behind new proposals to give cash to American households.

Utah Republican Sen. Mitt Romney on Monday announced that he was for a plan to give American workers $1,000 each month during the outbreak.

'We also urgently need to build on this legislation with additional action to help families and small businesses meet their short-term financial obligations, ease the financial burden on students entering the workforce, and protect health workers on the front lines and their patients by improving telehealth services,' the Utah senator said in a statement, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.

'I will be pushing these measures as Senate discussions continue about an additional relief package,' he added.