Still, McConnell’s decision to go forward on a smaller bill undercuts Trump’s call for Congress to “go big or go home!” While he said in a statement Saturday that the Senate “would of course consider” any deal reached between Pelosi and the White House, McConnell gave no sign of relaxing his opposition to a large-scale relief package.

Trump’s Clout
With Trump trailing Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in polls and potentially dragging down some Republican incumbents, the president’s ability to sway the GOP may be diminished.

Even if there’s a breakthrough this week, there’s a very narrow window to overcome Republican opposition to any relief plan in the $2 trillion range, and to get a bill written and passed before Election Day.

Pelosi has said she doesn’t want to wait until January for legislation to bolster the still-struggling U.S. economy, but that might mean settling for a smaller package in the lame duck session of Congress between the election and inauguration.

The outcome on Nov. 3 will also have a major impact on what comes next; a big question is what Trump might do after the election. It’s uncertain how he’d approach talks if he loses to Democrat Joe Biden, or whether he could drive a harder bargain if he’s re-elected.

“Anybody who would want to predict what President Trump will or won’t do is doing so at their own risk,” said former Republican House Speaker John Boehner.

Boehner, now a senior strategic adviser at lobbying and law firm Squire Patton Boggs, said if Trump wins it’s likely that a smaller stimulus bill will be included in government funding legislation that has a Dec. 11 deadline.

Election Outcomes
“If Joe Biden wins the election they’ll hold off on a stimulus bill of any size until after the inauguration, and then you’re likely to see a rather large stimulus bill pass the Congress and get signed into law,” Boehner said Friday during a virtual event on the post-election outlook held by his firm.

Mnuchin and Pelosi spoke at length Saturday night and agreed to speak again on Monday, according to Treasury spokeswoman Monica Crowley. Their staffs were due to keep talks going in the meantime.

The pair had been making progress on the issue of a national Covid-19 testing strategy, a key issue for Pelosi. But the speaker told House Democrats in a letter last week that “many other disagreements remain.”