Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told republican Senators during a caucus lunch Tuesday that he warned President Trump against dividing the caucus to push a White House-brokered coronavirus deal before the election, the Associated Press reports.

Although he promised that he would bring any White House proposal to the floor for a vote, McConnell presented an alternative $500 billion package to the Senate, with the first bill brought to the floor today and the second scheduled for tomorrow.

Desperate for a political win prior to the election, Trump has said he wanted a relief bill bigger than the $2.2 trillion proposal backed by Democrats and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.  The White House negotiator, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, has offered a $1.8 trillion deal, lower than what Trump claimed.

Trump himself has not presented any new program nor even an outline for a relief bill.

Reportedly, the talks between Mnuchin and Pelosi are progressing, with agreement in principle on pandemic jobless aid, a second round of $1,200 direct payments, and money for schools, testing and vaccines.

The two sides remain far apart on issues such as programs sought by Democrats such as refundable tax credits for the working poor and families with children and the amount of a aid package for state and local governments.  Mnuchin wants a liability shield for businesses and other organizations preventing workers from suing businesses who do not provide enough protection against the spread of coronavirus.

McConnell has been locked out of the negotiations between the Speaker and the White House.