Kudlow: Coronavirus Relief Package Could Total More Than $2 Trillion

Topline: The massive fiscal stimulus package under negotiation in the Senate to stem the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic will double, now amounting to more than $2 trillion, White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow told reporters on Saturday.

• As lawmakers continue to negotiate the terms of the forthcoming coronavirus relief package, Kudlow estimated that the wide sweeping stimulus measures could total “about 10% of GDP,” Reuters first reported.
• When asked if that amounted to more than $2 trillion, Kudlow said: “That’s correct.”
• His comments suggest that negotiators have doubled the size of the coronavirus stimulus package, even as Democrats and Republicans continue to dispute several of the finer points of the agreement.
• That’s a major escalation from the size of the relief package originally requested by the Trump administration several days ago, which was expected to amount to $1 trillion.
• Kudlow, calling it a “very large package,” said the stimulus measures would give small businesses a payroll tax holiday—though he didn’t clarify whether that has been agreed upon yet.
• When asked if the coronavirus stimulus package would include more government spending or appropriations than originally planned, Kudlow said, “we’ll see.”

Crucial quote: “We’re just trying to cover the right bases,” Kudlow, who is director of the National Economic Council, said as he re-entered the talks. “It’s a problem of weeks and months, not years. We just want a bridge.”

What to watch for: What stimulus measures have been added to the package to double the size of the legislation. While Kudlow did not specify any new provisions that have been agreed upon, negotiators are reportedly discussing more unemployment insurance, more funding to hospitals and establishing state stabilization funds.