A new US$1.8 trillion economic stimulus proposal from the Trump administration drew criticism from congressional Democrats and Republicans, diminishing hopes for a coronavirus relief deal before the November 3 election. In a weekly letter to Democratic colleagues, Pelosi said the Trump administration’s proposal lacked a “strategic plan to crush the virus” and gave President Donald Trump too much discretion to decide how funds were allocated. “At this point, we still have disagreement on many priorities, and Democrats are awaiting language from the Administration on several provisions as the negotiations on the overall funding amount continue,” Pelosi’s letter said. On a conference call on Saturday with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, multiple Republican senators criticised the price tag of the Trump administration’s proposal, a source familiar with the matter said. US stimulus talks: what went wrong? Mnuchin floated the US$1.8 trillion proposal in a 30-minute Friday phone conversation with Pelosi, according to the White House. The new White House package was higher than an earlier US$1.6 trillion Mnuchin offer and closer to the US$2.2 trillion the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives passed earlier. White House spokeswoman Alyssa Farah said the administration wanted to keep spending below US$2 trillion but was eager to enact a fresh round of direct payments to individuals as well as aid for small businesses and airlines. Friday marked the third straight day of talks between Pelosi and Mnuchin. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, the top Republican in Congress, said on Friday he doubted lawmakers would pass a package before November 3, although he has not directly participated in the talks. “The proximity to the election and the differences of opinion over what is needed at this particular juncture are pretty vast,” McConnell told a said. Trump appears in public, doctor says he’s no longer a Covid-19 ‘transmission risk’ There was no immediate comment on Saturday from the Treasury, White House, or McConnell’s off. The majority leader later told reporters that “even if an agreement” on stimulus is reached, his first priority was securing Senate confirmation of Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court, Amy Coney Barrett. Hearings for her nomination were expected to begin on Monday with a final Senate vote as soon as the week of October 26. If Pelosi and Mnuchin did reach an agreement, Congress would likely need two weeks or more to draft legislative text and approve it in the House and Senate. The Senate is on recess until October 19 and the House until mid-November, but lawmakers have been told they can be called back with 24 hours notice to vote on any stimulus deal. Additional reporting by Bloomberg