Coronavirus Impact On US Economy: Trump 'Absolutely Prepared' To Support More Stimulus, Treasury Secretary Says

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Monday that President Trump is “absolutely prepared” to back additional stimulus measures to boost the U.S. economy amid the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.

"If we need to put more money out to support American business and American workers, the president is absolutely prepared to do that," Mnuchin told Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo in an interview.

Mnuchin said the White House is carefully analyzing economic activity as various states reopen non-essential businesses.

He claimed that Trump wanted to make changes to the tax code, making restaurant entertainment expenses “fully tax deductible like it used to be ... to get people to go back to restaurants.”

“The president’s also looking about ways to stimulate travel,” Mnuchin continued. He said the administration is focusing on restoring domestic travel, but added it may be “too hard to tell” if international travel will return to normal this year.

In March, the $2 trillion CARES Act financial package was passed to stimulate the U.S. economy, as businesses across the country are impacted by the coronavirus. The package gave checks of at least $1,200 to most Americans, along with boosting unemployment insurance. The legislation also provides aid to small businesses and hard-hit industries such as airlines.

In the first quarter of 2020, U.S. GDP fell by 4.8%. In the second quarter, GDP is projected to decrease by an even larger amount, with financial services company Goldman Sachs projecting a 34% drop.

The U.S. currently has the most coronavirus cases of any country in the world. As of Monday at 11:30 a.m. ET, there are 1,161,346 coronavirus cases and 67,781 deaths in the U.S.