Congressional leaders scrambled on Tuesday to reach agreement on a stimulus bill and a catchall omnibus funding package to keep government funding flowing, meeting to try to hammer out critical spending deals ahead of a Friday deadline.
Their talks broke up about 10 p.m. Tuesday, with lawmakers voicing some optimism as they left the Capitol. Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader, said, “We’re making significant progress.”
He added that he was encouraged that they were “going to be able to complete an understanding sometime soon.”
As he left the Capitol, Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader, echoed Mr. McConnell’s optimism and said that “hopefully we can come to an agreement soon.” Discussions and staff work were expected to continue on Wednesday.
The Tuesday meetings of the top two Republicans and Democrats in the House and the Senate were the first in-person spending talks in months for the leaders, with a final deal still elusive on both the dozen must-pass spending bills and hundreds of billions of dollars in economic aid for individuals and businesses struggling amid the pandemic, and to fund the distribution of a vaccine.
They took place in the Capitol office suite of Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California, who hosted Mr. Schumer and the Republican leaders Mr. McConnell and Representative Kevin McCarthy of California.
The group first met for a little under an hour to discuss how to resolve its differences before government funding is scheduled to lapse at week’s end, and reconvened later in the evening for a second session.
Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury secretary, joined the first session by phone, after speaking separately with Ms. Pelosi for more than an hour.
Mr. McCarthy, headed back to his office after the evening meeting, said that “we’re exchanging our papers.” He also offered a note of optimism for the chances of a deal.
“We’re making significant progress,” Mr. McConnell said, “and I’m optimistic that we’re going to be able to complete an understanding sometime soon.”
The four leaders have agreed that any additional pandemic aid should be wrapped into the year-end spending measure, and that Congress should not adjourn without approving some pandemic relief as Covid-19 cases continue to rise across the country and the government works to distribute the vaccine to essential workers and others. “We’re going to get an agreement as soon as we can agree,” Mr. McConnell told reporters after the first meeting.
Aides involved in the…