As Trump’s Diagnosis Spooks G.O.P., Pelosi Projects Optimism on Stimulus Deal

“We’ll find our middle ground — we’re legislators,” Ms. Pelosi said. “We’ll get the job done.”Mr. Mnuchin and Ms. Pelosi spoke for more than an hour on Friday about those differences, said Drew Hammill, a spokesman for Ms. Pelosi, and their conversations were expected to continue. The House left Washington on Friday, with the promise of 24 hours’ notice before a vote on any legislation.Moderate rank-and-file lawmakers have increasingly agitated for Ms. Pelosi to strike a bipartisan agreement with the administration, with some personally lobbying for the chamber to remain in Washington until a compromise is reached. Eighteen Democrats broke with their party on Thursday and voted against the $2.2 trillion plan, most of them arguing that there was no point in advancing legislation that did not have Republican support.“Instead of both sides making necessary concessions and getting Americans the relief they desperately need, we’re back to passing partisan bills that are dead on arrival and a blame game from all parties,” Representative Max Rose, Democrat of New York, said in a statement after the vote. “Voting on this bill means both sides have given up, and I will never vote to do that.”Other Democrats argued that Mr. Trump had done little to cajole his party to agree to anything close to the Democratic demands of an aid package for people and businesses that exceeds $2.2 trillion.In the absence of a compromise, both sides were pointing fingers at each other. Democrats complained privately that Mr. Trump himself was the hangup in the process and had not pressed for a deal. Republicans said that Democrats were wary of handing the president anything like a victory before the election.Despite Ms. Pelosi’s promise of imminent relief for airline workers, it remained unclear whether a stand-alone bill or even a deal struck between Ms. Pelosi and Mr. Mnuchin could ultimately become law, given stark divisions among Republicans over how much relief is warranted to help bolster economic recovery.Republicans, who have been pushing for a stand-alone bill for small business relief, on Friday prevented an attempt by Representative Peter A. DeFazio, Democrat of Oregon and the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, to unanimously approve legislation reviving an expired relief program for airline workers.


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