But he and other administration officials have acknowledged that their conversations with leaders across a wide span of industries have painted a vivid picture of an economy in duress. Casinos, airlines, cruise companies and mortgage banks are among the many industries that have asked the White House for bailouts. The White House is asking lawmakers for $200 billion in what’s called stabilization assistance as part of the stimulus plan.

New Urgency
The new urgency is evident even in the White House’s day-to-day operations. Access to the president has been curtailed, with his top aides advising administration staff and other visitors who once could easily enter the West Wing that they should conduct their business by phone or video conference instead, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Trump’s national security adviser, Robert O’Brien, rescheduled and then canceled a key meeting Tuesday on the U.S.-China relationship. Trump wanted his staff focused on coronavirus, according to one person familiar with the matter.

And on Capitol Hill, lawmakers worried that unemployment claims are spiking and the bars, restaurants, and theaters woven into the fabric of American life might not survive a prolonged shutdown. Ohio reported more than 48,000 unemployment claims over the past two days, compared to under 2,000 during the same stretch a week prior.

“We’re talking about an effort to control this virus that requires us to tell businesses to close in order to save lives,” said Florida Senator Marco Rubio, a Republican. “That is an extraordinary development. This is not an economic downturn, this is not some recession or some normal event that happens in the cycles of an economy. This is an extraordinary, unprecedented challenge.”

McConnell vowed to keep the upper chamber in session until a “major” coronavirus response had passed, as lawmakers in both parties expressed alarm at the near-empty airplanes that returned them to Washington this week.

Republican lawmakers also tossed aside concerns with the bill Pelosi and Mnuchin had negotiated, with McConnell announcing the upper chamber would pass the legislation without making changes despite the objections of some Republicans over how it would impact small businesses.

Taken collectively, the aggressive actions revealed not only the pressure on Washington to act, but the depth of GOP concern about how the economic impact could influence the upcoming election.

Trump has always been acutely aware of the role a thriving economy plays in his re-election chances, and his proposed stimulus appeared designed to flood recovery dollars to Americans well before they head to the polls. The administration made clear its desire to get checks to mailboxes quickly.

“What we’ve heard from hardworking Americans, many companies have now shut down, whether it’s bars or restaurants,” Mnuchin said. “Americans need cash now, and the president wants to get cash now. And I mean now.”