(Adds details, market reaction)
WASHINGTON, Oct 6 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on
Tuesday called off negotiations with Democratic lawmakers on
coronavirus relief legislation until after the election, even as
cases of the virus are on the rise across much of the country
before flu season.
"I have instructed my representatives to stop negotiating
until after the election when, immediately after I win, we will
pass a major Stimulus Bill that focuses on hardworking Americans
and Small Business," Trump wrote on Twitter a day after emerging
from a hospital stay for COVID-19 treatment.
Trump's surprise move came after U.S. House of
Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday said during an
interview with NBC's "Face the Nation" that progress was being
made in her negotiations with the Trump administration on a bill
to build on the more than $3 trillion in coronavirus aid enacted
into law earlier this year.
Earlier on Tuesday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told
a business conference the U.S. economic expansion was "far from
complete" following the deep contraction stemming from the
coronavirus pandemic.
A failure by the United States to provide further relief,
Powell warned, "would lead to a weak recovery, creating
unnecessary hardship for households and businesses."
Following Trump's announcement breaking off negotiations,
U.S. stocks were down more than 2 percent in late afternoon
trading.
In recent days, financial markets were hopeful progress
toward a COVID-19 vaccine and another round of economic stimulus
from Congress would boost the U.S. economy, which has been
showing signs of renewed weakness.
Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had been
talking regularly over the past week or so as they attempted to
narrow the gap between a recent Democratic call for around $2.2
trillion in new spending to battle the pandemic and bolster the
economy, versus around $1.6 trillion sought by the
administration.
It was not clear whether enough Senate Republicans would
have gotten behind any deal, however.
Pelosi aides were not immediately available for comment.
(Reporting by Doina Chiacu, Tim Ahmann, Richard Cowan and Susan
Cornwell
Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Chris Reese)
© 2025 Thomson/Reuters. All rights reserved.