Updated Mar 24, 2020 - Politics & Policy

Pelosi: "Real optimism" for coronavirus stimulus deal "in the next few hours"

Axios

Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images

Speaker Nancy Pelosi told CNBC's Jim Cramer Tuesday that there is "real optimism" that a coronavirus stimulus deal could come together "in the next few hours."

Driving the news: One "big change" in the negotiations that Pelosi highlighted was the fact that Senate Republicans and the Trump administration agreed to House Democrats' oversight language for the $500 billion fund designed to help impacted industries.

What she's saying: "This bill will be a trillion-dollar bill, which nobody even saw until Saturday. So while we all appreciate the urgency, it's a big responsibility to do it right and, where we can find shared values, to do that."

  • She said that her preference to get the bill passed would be via unanimous consent in the House — but noted that certain "poison pills" from Republicans could jeopardize that.

The other side: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell echoed Pelosi's optimism on the Senate floor Tuesday, saying he believes negotiators are on the "five-yard line."

  • "It's taken a lot of noise and a lot of rhetoric to get us here. That, of course, sometimes happens in this town. ... Today we can make all of the Washington drama fade away. If we act today, what Americans will remember and what history will record is that the senate did the right thing.”

The big picture: The stock market responded positively to the current state of negotiations on Tuesday morning, jumping more than 5% at the market's open.

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