The timing of Trump's sudden move perplexed even Republicans since there was little downside politically to allowing the talks to continue to play out. The President's tweet may have come as a surprise to some top Republicans as well as Democrats. McConnell indicated Tuesday afternoon, however, that he backs Trump's move to end stimulus talks. Pelosi also questioned whether Trump taking a steroid was impacting his thinking, according to two people on the call. Last week, the House of Representatives approved a $2.2 trillion coronavirus stimulus measure put forward by House Democrats with no bipartisan deal in sight as Pelosi and Mnuchin continued talks.

Source: CNN October 06, 2020 19:10 UTC