Dems press ahead on coronavirus package as Senate waits for Trump

The speaker and president have different plans to boost the economy.

The White House and Speaker Nancy Pelosi began preliminary talks on Tuesday over a legislative package to juice the U.S. economy amid the worldwide coronavirus outbreak.

But House Democrats are simultaneously pressing forward with their own plan to counter the crisis that could get a vote as early as this week — showing that even the response to a massive public-health emergency is breaking down along partisan lines.

President Donald Trump presented Republican senators with several potential actions Congress could take as lawmakers look to avert disastrous economic impacts from the virus — but he did not offer a specific legislative package during their hour-long lunch meeting on Tuesday, according to several attendees. Continue reading.