LISA MASCARO and ZEKE MILLER
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is asking Congress to unleash a torrent of emergency economic aid — including direct checks to Americans — in an extraordinary effort to shore up households and the economy in the coronavirus crisis.
As part of a proposed economic rescue not seen since the Great Recession in 2008, Trump wants checks sent to the public within two weeks as part of a package that officials said could approach a cost of $1 trillion. Congressional leaders vowed swift action. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin appeared on Capitol Hill to brief Senate Republicans as state and local officials acted more forcefully to restrict gatherings and mobility in the face of growing sickness.
"We want to go big," Trump said at a
