White House and Senate Agree $2 Trillion Coronavirus Rescue Package

The White House and the Senate reached a deal on a $2 trillion Coronavirus rescue package over night. The deal, which is almost without precedent for its size and scale, was finally achieved just before 1 a.m. on Wednesday after long and tense negotiations.

“At last, we have a deal. After days of intense discussions, the Senate has reached a bipartisan agreement on a historic relief package for this pandemic,” said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

McConnell said the package would see ‘a war-time level of investment for our nation.’ The Senate will reconvene at noon on Wednesday and is expected to pass the deal later in the day, though no time for a final vote has been set.

The package is expected to pass with bipartisan support after Democrats initially rejected a stimulus package that they said amounted to a $500 billion ‘slush fund’ for corporations.

The precise details have yet to be released, but the rescue package will contain $250 billion for direct payments to individual Americans, $350 billion in small business loans, $250 billion in unemployment benefits and $500 billion in loans for distressed companies.

U.S. stock markets rallied on hopes that a deal like this could be reached, making historic gains on Tuesday after weeks of equally historic losses. The bill, if passed, will see direct payments to Americans amid the ongoing health and economic trouble.