Trump says to expect a second stimulus check 'very soon'

President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Americans should expect a second round of stimulus payments "very soon." 

“We are working on another stimulus package, and that will take place … very soon,” Trump told journalist Jessi Turnure.

President Trump added that his administration is negotiating with Congress as to the exact amount that would be sent out to Americans.

Last month, Trump announced that the long-awaited second wave of stimulus payments are on the way, suggesting that they would be "very generous" and announced in a "couple of weeks." 

At the time, Trump stated: "Yeah, we are. We are. Look we had this ... We had this going better than anybody’s ever seen before. We had the best job numbers, the best economics, the best economy we’ve ever had, and then we had the virus come in from China. Now we’re rebuilding it again. We will be doing another stimulus package. It’ll be very good, it’ll be very generous." 

In April, millions of Americans received stimulus payments of up to $1,200 per adult and $500 per child. Individuals who earned between $75,000 and $99,000 a year received a reduced amount. For couples, the payments tapered off at earnings of $150,000 a year.

However, that money didn't last long for those who had lost their jobs as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, and it quickly became apparent that further stimulus would be needed.

On Monday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell suggested that a second round of stimulus would be targeted at lower income people, who are by the far the most impacted as a result of the economic downturn.

“I think the people who have been hit the hardest are people who make about $40,000 a year or less,” McConnell said. “And many of them work in the hospitality industry.” 

On the same day, Washington Post reporter Jeff Stein stated that many Republican lawmakers want to begin targeting lower income Americans.

Marc Short, Vice President Mike Pence's chief of staff, also suggested that the White House wants to keep the cost of a second stimulus package down to below $1 trillion.

“I think we want to make sure that people that are still unemployed or hurting are protected but at the same time, we want to take into consideration the fact the economy is bouncing back and want to try to contain the amount of spending,” Short told Bloomberg.

“There’s obviously been a lot of stimulus put in the system over the last couple bills, and so the price tag for us would be that.”

With the House and Senate set to begin a recess in early August, lawmakers are hoping to get finish work on the second round of stimulus by then.