White House Stimulus Proposal Goes Over $1.5 Trillion With $20 Billion For Airlines

American Airlines and United Airlines, two of the largest U.S. carriers, said they were beginning furloughs of over 32,000 workers on Thursday as hopes faded for a last-minute bailout from Washington. U.S. airlines have been pleading for another $25 billion in payroll support to protect jobs for a further six months after the current package, which banned furloughs, expired at midnight EDT.

Coronavirus relief talks between the White House and House Democrats had stalled in large part over the price tag, with Democrats seeking $2.2 trillion and the White House staying firm at $1.5 trillion.

Meadows declined to provide the total value of the White House’s latest proposal but said the figure is “certainly above the $1.5 trillion that has been articulated to date.”

“As you get above $1.5 trillion, it gets extremely difficult to justify based on the facts,” he cautioned, explicitly stating that $2 trillion was too much. “If it starts with a 2, it’s going to be a real problem,” he added.