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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Thursday shot down the prospect of a coronavirus deal totaling between $1.8 trillion and $2.2 trillion — the goalposts of the current talks between Democrats and the White House. McConnell's comments, made to reporters in Kentucky, underscore the divisions between President Trump and Senate Republicans on a fifth coronavirus package, with the GOP leader preparing to force a vote on a $500 billion bill next week. (Carney, 10/15)

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin suggested Thursday that President Trump will press Senate Republicans to accept a massive coronavirus relief package if a deal with Democrats emerges, according to the office of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). Trump in recent days has urged Congress to "go big" as lawmakers weigh another round of emergency stimulus, indicating Thursday that he's told Mnuchin to seek more funding than the $1.8 trillion proposal offered by the White House last week. (Lillis, 10/15)

President Trump clashed with his own party on Thursday over a stimulus package to stabilize the economy, calling for a big-spending plan of the kind envisioned by Democrats even as the top Republican leader declared that such a measure had little support within the party. Mr. Trump declared he “would go higher” than the latest $1.8 trillion framework the White House has put forward in negotiations with Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, faulting his own Treasury secretary for failing to offer enough money in the talks. A short time later, Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader, all but ruled out such a deal, saying senators in his party would never support a package of that magnitude. (Cochrane and Rappeport, 10/15)

Jobless Americans who received enhanced unemployment benefits during the pandemic were able to boost spending and pad up their savings for a time. But the majority of those savings were spent quickly after emergency benefits expired, a study released on Friday found, suggesting many of the unemployed may need more financial help soon. People receiving unemployment benefits and direct cash payments as part of the CARES Act were able to approximately double their liquid savings between March and July of this year, according to an analysis by the JPMorgan Chase Institute. (Marte, 10/16)

Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins and her Democratic opponent Sara Gideon sparred on health care and the nation’s coronavirus response during a Thursday debate that saw the two candidates heavily criticize each other’s records in office. Collins, a 24-year senator, and Gideon, the speaker of the Maine House of Representatives, are in a heated, expensive race that could help determine control of the U.S. Senate. (Whittle, 10/16)