US President Donald Trump has said he is ending negotiations over a Covid-19 relief bill, and will only resume talks after the election. “Immediately after I win, we will pass a major Stimulus Bill that focuses on hardworking Americans,” he tweeted one day after leaving hospital. Budget talks between Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had been underway. US stock markets fell immediately after Mr Trump’s announcement. It comes as cases rise in several parts of the country, and the outbreak hits top Pentagon military officials, White House staff and Republican senators. Lawmakers from both parties had hoped for another round of Covid-19 relief spending to pass ahead of the 3 November election, but Mr Trump’s tweet appears to have abruptly suspended that prospect.

In his tweet, the president cast blame for the talks’ collapse on Mrs Pelosi, saying that she was seeking $2.4tr (£1.8tr) “to bailout poorly run, high crime, Democrat States”. He said he counter-offered $1.6tr (£1.2tr) but Mrs Pelosi “is not negotiating in good faith”. “I am rejecting their request, and looking to the future of the Country,” he wrote. He added that he had instructed Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to focus efforts on confirming his Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett.(BBC)…[+]