Democratic lawmakers, led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., refused to finalize a nearly $2 trillion economic rescue package as the coronavirus crisis deepened on Sunday.

“I didn’t expect to be starting off my week with such a dire message for America,” Surgeon General Jerome Adams said on “CBS This Morning,” as he warned the numbers will grow get worse this week. “Things are going to get worse before they get better. We really need everyone to understand this…and lean into what they can do to flatten the curve.

President Donald Trump and Republicans resumed talks with Pelosi at 9 a.m. after working through the night on the massive $2 trillion economic rescue plan.

Democrats derailed the plan Sunday night, arguing it was tilted toward corporations and did too little to help health care providers. Even The New York Times slammed Pelosi’s move —

NYT Lets Schumer & Pelosi Have It

Emergency Economic Rescue Plan in Limbo as Democrats Block Actionhttps://t.co/0WI6zc5DLQ#MAGA 🇺🇸 #Trump #NRA pic.twitter.com/CWRVFEJQnb

— VotingFemale 🇺🇸 (@VotingFemaIe) March 23, 2020

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin exited the Capitol just before midnight, struck an optimistic note: “We’re very close,” he said, adding negotiators would work through the night.

“Our nation cannot afford a game of chicken,” warned Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., his voice rising in anger on the Senate floor Sunday night.

His goal is to vote Monday. The Senate will re-convene at noon.

Public response to Pelosi’s move was largely negative on social media. Guy Benson, a conservative activist and Fox News contributor, wrote —

Spiraling global pandemic w/ people’s livelihoods getting wiped out…and Democrats are filibustering relief bills while internally debating how this will impact their electoral fortunes. Good look! https://t.co/jtIVxha6QS

— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) March 22, 2020

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y, defended Pelosi’s actions.

“This bill is going to affect this country and the lives of Americans, not just for the next few days, but in the next few months and years — so we have to make sure it is good, he said. ’“There were some serious problems with the bill leader McConnell laid down.”

But Schumer said they were making progress in dealing with those issues. “We’re getting closer and closer. And I’m very hopeful, is how I’d put it, that we can get a bill in the morning.”

On the economic front, the Federal Reserve announced Monday it will lend to small and large businesses and local governments as well as extend its bond buying programs as part of a series of sweeping steps to support the flow of credit through an economy ravaged by the viral outbreak.

The Fed said it will set up three new lending facilities that will provide up to $300 billion by purchasing corporate bonds, buying a wider range of municipal bonds, and purchasing asset-backed securities.

It also says it will buy an unlimited amount of Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities in an effort hold down interest rates and ensure those markets function smoothly.

With a population on edge and shell-shocked financial markets poised for the new work week, Washington labored under the size and scope of the rescue package that’s more ambitious than any in recent times — larger than the 2008 bank bailout and 2009 recovery act combined.

Democrats said the largely Trump-led effort did not spend enough money and didn’t put restraints on a proposed $500 billion loan fund for corporations. They voted to block its advance.

Trump urged Congress to get a deal done and, during the Sunday briefing, responded to criticism that his administration was slow to act. He cited his cooperation with the three states hardest hit — New York, Washington, and California — and invoked a measure to give governors flexibility in calling up the national guard under their control, while the federal government covers the bill.

In recent days, Trump invoked the Defense Protection Act, a rarely used, decades-old authority that can be used to compel the private sector to manufacture needed medical supplies like masks and ventilators. Officials said Sunday that it would be used voluntarily and businesses would not be compelled to act.

“We are a country not based on nationalizing our business,” said Trump, who has repeatedly railed against socialism overseas and among Democrats.

“For those worried and afraid, please know as long as I am your president, you can feel confident that you have a leader who will always fight for you,” Trump later added.

The urgency to act is mounting, as jobless claims skyrocket and financial markets are eager for signs that Washington can soften the blow of the healthcare crisis and what experts say is a looming recession. Stock futures declined sharply as Trump spoke Sunday evening.

Officials late Sunday put the price tag of the ballooning rescue package at nearly $2 trillion. That does not include additional measures being taken by the Federal Reserve to shore up the economy.

Central to the package is as much as $350 billion for small businesses to keep making payroll while workers are forced to stay home. There is also a one-time rebate check of about $1,200 per person, or $3,000 for a family of four, as well as the extended unemployment benefits.

Hospitals, Mnuchin said, will get approximately $110 billion for the expected influx of sick patients.

The treasury secretary said a significant part of the package will involve working with the Federal Reserve for up to $4 trillion of liquidity to support the economy with “broad-based lending programs.”

Pelosi pushed for add-ons, including food security aid, small business loans, and other spending measures.

With Sunday’s failed vote, McConnell angrily blamed Pelosi, who returned to Washington for a top-level meeting, saying she “poured cold water” over the draft plan. But any measure from the Senate also needs to pass the House.

 

Trump Checks: How much you’ll get

 

The Associated Press contributed to this article