Democrats are attempting to drive a wedge between President Trump…

Democrats are attempting to drive a wedge between President TrumpDonald John TrumpMark Kelly clinches Democratic Senate nod in ArizonaTrump camp considering White House South Lawn for convention speech: reportsLongtime Rep. Lacy Clay defeated in Missouri Democratic primaryMORE and Senate Republicans in their negotiations over the next coronavirus-relief package.
Speaker Nancy PelosiNancy PelosiNegotiators hit gas on coronavirus talks as frustration mountsHillicon Valley: NSA warns of new security threats | Teen accused of Twitter hack pleads not guilty | Experts warn of mail-in voting misinformationSchiff, Khanna call for free masks for all Americans in coronavirus aid packageMORE (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Charles SchumerChuck SchumerSchiff, Khanna call for free masks for all Americans in coronavirus aid packageMeadows: ‘I’m not optimistic there will be a solution in the very near term’ on coronavirus packageBiden calls on Trump, Congress to enact an emergency housing programMORE (D-N.Y.) are employing a divide-and-conquer strategy, betting that Trumps eagerness for a big COVID-19 bill that could bolster the faltering economy will override Senate GOP concerns about adding trillions more to the federal debt.
Democrats say the White House-Senate Republican unity started showing signs of strain last week after administration officials floated a short-term extension of the $600-a-week federal enhancement to state unemployment benefits that lapsed on Friday.
White House officials also signaled Trump would be willing to cut a deal with Democrats on legislation that did not include a must-have for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnellAddison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellTrump’s election delay red herringOn The Money: Unemployment debate sparks GOP divisions | Pandemic reveals flaws of unemployment insurance programs | Survey finds nearly one-third of rehired workers laid off again OVERNIGHT ENERGY: Trump signs major conservation bill into law | Senate votes to confirm Energy’s No. 2 official | Trump Jr. expresses opposition to Pebble Mine projectMORE (R-Ky.) legal protections for businesses, schools and health care providers to guard against coronavirus-related litigation for five years.
Schumer highlighted what he sees as divisions between the White House and Senate GOP conservatives after meeting behind closed doors for an hour-and-a-half with Treasury Secretary Steven MnuchinSteven Terner MnuchinNegotiators hit gas on coronavirus talks as frustration mountsSchiff, Khanna call for free masks for all Americans in coronavirus aid packageLawmakers aim for COVID-19 relief deal this weekMORE and White House chief of staff Mark MeadowsMark Randall MeadowsNegotiators hit gas on coronavirus talks as frustration mountsLawmakers aim for COVID-19 relief deal this weekOn The Money: Unemployment debate sparks GOP divisions | Pandemic reveals flaws of unemployment insurance programs | Survey finds nearly one-third of rehired workers laid off again MORE Tuesday afternoon.
They’re not unified. They admit that a large number of Republicans in the Senate will not vote for anything, and we do not know where Donald Trump is. He says a different thing every day, but we’re still slogging through — step by step by step, Schumer told reporters.
Pelosi on Tuesday predicted Democrats would prevail in getting a large-scale bill passed, despite efforts by McConnell to keep the price tag from exceeding $1 trillion. Democratic leaders say McConnells proposed cap falls far short of whats needed to respond to the pandemic. 
Are we persistent? Yes. Do we believe that we can get the kind of bold, strong bill that America needs? We do, Pelosi told reporters.
Mnuchin complained during a lunch meeting with Senate Republicans on Tuesday that Pelosi and Schumer have largely refused to budge from their initial negotiating position.
I think the comment was he didnt think they were any closer to a deal than they were this time last week, said Sen. Sen. Josh HawleyJoshua (Josh) David HawleyNegotiators hit gas on coronavirus talks as frustration mountsLawmakers aim for COVID-19 relief deal this weekMnuchin: Negotiators no closer to coronavirus deal than a week agoMORE (R-Mo.), recounting Mnuchins report for the GOP conference.
After Tuesday afternoons negotiations, when both sides said theyre aiming to strike a deal before the end of the week, Schumer said Republicans and Democrats each gave a little.
They made some concessions, which we appreciated. We made some concessions that they appreciated, he told reporters.
Senate Minority Whip Dick DurbinRichard (Dick) Joseph DurbinThe Hill’s Campaign Report: Who will Biden pick to be his running mate?Don’t count out Duckworth in Biden VP raceSchumer: Trump should want COVID-19 deal to help GOP election chancesMORE (D-Ill.) noted that the White House has demonstrated more flexibility than McConnell, who is not part of the negotiations, on issues like the weekly $600 federal enhancement to state unemployment benefits and coronavirus-related liability protections.
Six-hundred dollars a week McConnell came out against it, Trump came out for it. Immunity [from] liability red line for McConnell, the president said, Not one of our priorities, Durbin said, describing some of the signs of disagreements Democrats see between Trump and Senate Republicans. 
McConnell is facing a caucus that has two very dominant forces: 20 [Republicans] who want zero, not a penny, and a dozen who are up for reelection. Not a good assignment, Durbin said of McConnells difficult job balancing about a dozen to 20 conservatives worried about the deficit and vulnerable Republicans up for reelection who want to shore up the shaky economy.
Durbin said for the White House to say liability reform isnt one of its top priorities really undercuts McConnell and pointed out that the GOP leader is not the room when Pelosi and Schumer negotiate with Mnuchin and Meadows.
McConnell told reporters later on Tuesday that he is prepared to accept a deal reached between White House officials and Democratic leaders, even if hes not entirely happy with the compromise. 
I am prepared to support, even if I have some problems with certain parts of it, he said.
Several Republicans have expressed doubts about whether Mnuchin and Meadows can be counted on to hold the line against Democrats.
Sen. Ben SasseBenjamin (Ben) Eric SasseOn The Trail: The first signs of a post-Trump GOPMcConnell: 15-20 GOP senators will not vote for any coronavirus dealCNN chyron says ‘nah’ to Trump claim about RussiaMORE (R-Neb.) last week compared Mnuchin to big government Democrats.
The White House is trying to solve bad polling by agreeing to indefensibly bad debt, he warned, voicing concerns shared by at least a dozen GOP senators.
McConnell acknowledged Friday that there are 15-20 of my guys that arent going to vote for anything on coronavirus relief.
Democrats feel confident that if they hold pat, Trump will cave and drag at least half the Senate Republican conference along with him in supporting another multi trillion-dollar relief bill that omits the liability shield McConnell has vowed to include.
I think we just have to hang fire until they make sense, same thing we did in CARES, said Sen. Sheldon WhitehouseSheldon WhitehouseLiability shield fight threatens to blow up relief talksDemocrats call for McConnell to bring Voting Rights Act to floor in honor of LewisHillicon Valley: Russian hackers return to spotlight with vaccine research attack | Twitter says 130 accounts targeted in this week’s cyberattack | Four fired, dozens suspended in CBP probe into racist, sexist Facebook groupsMORE (D-R.I.), referring to the record $2.2 trillion agreement hammered out in March between Schumer, Pelosi and White House negotiators. The CARES Act included the $600-a-week federal plus-up in state unemployment benefits that expired last week.
On Tuesday afternoon, Republicans moved closer to the Democratic position when Sen. Lindsey GrahamLindsey Olin GrahamThe Hill’s Campaign Report: Even the Post Office is political now | Primary action tonight | Super PACS at warGraham leads Democratic challenger Harrison by 1 point in South Carolina: pollThe Global Fragility Act provides the tools to address long-term impacts of COVIDMORE (R-S.C.) introduced an unemployment benefits proposal that is significantly more generous than what some of his GOP colleagues were talking about last week.
Grahams proposal would supplement state unemployment benefits with a federal enhancement of $500 per week for the rest of August and all of September. 
Starting Oct. 1, unemployed workers could receive a federal benefit of up to $500 a week on top of state unemployment benefits, but the federal enhancement would be capped so that government support would not exceed 100 percent of the persons pre-pandemic wages.
Some Republicans fear the Democrats strategy to wait them out and count on Trump to acquiesce will ultimately prove successful.
Theyre seeing this and thinking, This is good for us, you know. Were putting pressure on Republicans without taking the heat ourselves, one GOP senator said.