White House Economic Adviser Kevin Hassett said a new emergency relief bill that would provide funding to state and local governments might not be passed right away.
He said the White House wants to learn more about what is going on in the economy as money from previous relief bills is still being distributed.
“I think that it’s just premature, given that the $9 trillion of aid that passed in the last three phases, given that that is still out there and there’s still a bunch of it that’s going to be delivered over the next month, we think we have the luxury of a moment to learn about what’s going on so the next step we take can be prudent,” Hassett told CNN on Sunday.
But he said that while a phase four deal might be on the back burner for now, President Trump would sign the right package.
“Of course if we go to a phase four deal, I think President Trump has signaled that while he doesn’t want to bail out the states, he’s willing to help cover some of the unexpected Covid expenses that might have come their way,” Hassett said.
Some context: Capitol Hill has passed nearly $3 trillion in funding across several packages in response to the coronavirus already, including $150 billion for state and local governments.
The problem is because there are specific guidelines on what this money has to be used for, local governments can’t use it for things they need most, like basic operational costs, such as paying police and firefighters, for example.
Democrats such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California have suggested that state and local governments could need as much as an additional $1 trillion in aid, but Republicans are wary about passing another huge relief bill.
Trump said on Friday that the White House is “in no rush” to pass additional stimulus funds in response to coronavirus.
