Mnuchin Says It Is Not ‘the Time To Worry’ About Deficit as Pandemic Continues

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin admitted that he believes lawmakers should not view the country’s financial deficit or the Fed’s balance sheets as a deterrent that prohibits the passing of the next coronavirus relief package.

Appearing on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Monday, Mnuchin said, “Now is not the time to worry about shrinking the deficit or shrinking the Fed balance sheet.”

“There was a time where the Fed was shrinking the balance sheet and coming back to normal. The good news is that gave them a lot of room to increase the balance sheet, which they did,” he added.

Mnuchin contributed the sizable stimulus and the Federal Reserve’s implemented measures that enabled the economy to survive despite the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

He added, “And I think both the monetary policy working with fiscal policy and what we were able to get done in an unprecedented way with Congress is the reason why the economy is doing better.”

See Mnuchin’s remarks below:

Mnuchin went on to explain the positive economic impacts of the previous $3 trillion-dollar coronavirus bill that was passed.

“I think had we not passed the three trillion-dollar deal and had the Fed not acted in the way they’ve done, including the various different 13(3) facilities we’ve worked on together, I think you’d see a very very different economic scenario right now,” Mnuchin said.

Mnuchin’s latest remarks follow Democratic and Republican lawmakers’ impasse regarding the latest coronavirus relief package.

Although Democratic lawmakers have proposed another $3 trillion package, Republican lawmakers balked at the amount of the bill and countered with a $1 trillion bill.

Despite proposed efforts on both sides, lawmakers have not been able to reach an agreement so a bill has stalled due to various differences regarding enhanced unemployment benefits, individual stimulus checks, United States Postal Service funding, and more.