Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer and Trump officials fail to agree on a coronavirus stimulus deal that could send $3,400 to desperate American families - and decide to restart talks on MONDAY

The top Democrats in Congress are not close to a deal with the White House to pump more money into the U.S. economy to ease the coronavirus' heavy toll, both sides said on Saturday, after an essential lifeline for millions of unemployed Americans expired.

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer had met with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows for three hours at the Capitol on Saturday morning.

But they failed to make a deal and will now meet again on Monday, Schumer said - but their staff will meet tomorrow. 

The meeting came after $600 unemployment boosts brought in under a previous relief package expired on Friday night.

The negotiations are also holding up direct payments to Americans of up to $1,200. 

On Friday, President Donald Trump blamed the Dems for the impasse, writing on Twitter: 'The Democrats are holding back the $1,200 to $3,400 (family of four) checks that were ready to be sent out!' 

But Democrats have hit back, saying the Republican plan doesn't go far enough to help Americans.

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House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer greet each other Saturday before talks restarted

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White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, right, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, arrive at the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

After Saturday's meeting, Schumer said:  'This was the longest meeting we had and it was more productive than the other meetings. There are many issues that are still very much outstanding where we're apart.

'We’re not close yet, but it was productive discussion. Now each side knows where we’re at and we are going to work very hard to reach an agreement that meets the needs of the moment.

'Just saying, "We’ll do half way" doesn’t work when people need homes and need jobs and need housing and need help.'

'We're still a long ways apart and I don't want to suggest a deal is imminent because it is not,' Mnuchin told reporters, adding 'there are still substantial differences but we did make good progress.'

Pelosi said: 'What we are doing is not only trying to arrest the virus but to invest in the economy as we help America’s working families. So, today was productive in terms of moving us forward.

'We have to get through this virus so that we can open our economy, safely open our schools and to do so in a way that does not give a cut in benefits to America’s workers.'

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Schumer and Pelosi speak to reporters after the meeting with White House representatives

 Republican Mnuchin said: 'We're still a long ways apart and I don't want to suggest a deal is imminent because it is not. There are still substantial differences but we did make good progress.'

Congress for the past several months has been unable to reach an accord for a next round of coronavirus relief, in a pandemic that has killed more than 150,000 Americans and brought on the sharpest economic collapse since the Great Depression.

In a meeting on Thursday night between top White House officials and congressional Democratic leaders, negotiations focused on an extension of the $600 per week in federal unemployment benefits, which Americans who lost jobs because of the health crisis have been receiving in addition to state jobless payments.

Pelosi said before the start of the meeting that she continued to oppose a short-term deal.

She said on Friday that she rejected an offer by Republican President Donald Trump's administration to continue the $600 payments for another week, saying such a move would only make sense 'if you are on a path' toward a deal.

'We're not,' Pelosi told a news conference.

White House officials took their own hard line, accusing Democrats of refusing Trump's proposals to extend the jobless benefit and a moratorium on home evictions that expired last week.

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Chuck Schumer  arrives at Nancy Pelosi's office to resume talks on the coronavirus relief bill

'What we're seeing is politics as usual from Democrats on Capitol Hill,' Meadows - a former Republican House member - told reporters.

The House in May passed a $3 trillion deal that addressed a wide range of coronavirus responses, including more money for testing, for elections and support to financially strapped state and local governments.

'There is clearly a desire on their part to do an entire package,' Mnuchin told reporters. 'We've made clear that we are willing to deal with the short-term issues and pass something quickly and come back to larger issues. So we are at an impasse on that.' 

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Monday unveiled his own $1 trillion package, which met immediate resistance both from Democrats, who called it too small, and from members of his own party, who said it was too costly.

Trump, scrambling to prop up a struggling U.S. economy as he runs for re-election in November, has been pushing for another bill.

According to a person familiar with the closed-door negotiations, the White House proposed continuing the $600 weekly unemployment payment for one week, which Pelosi and Schumer rejected. In a meeting on Thursday night between top White House officials and congressional Democratic leaders, negotiations focused on an extension of the $600 per week in federal unemployment benefits, which Americans who lost jobs because of the health crisis have been receiving in addition to state jobless payments.

The White House then proposed reducing the $600 weekly payment to $400 for the next four months. While that was a move toward Democrats' demands, the source said they rejected it as insufficient.

The source, who asked not to be identified, said the White House also hinted it could embrace a deal without the legal protections from lawsuits for companies and schools that McConnell has said must be included.

On Thursday, Senate Republicans tried, without success, to pass a bill reducing the jobless benefit to $200 per week.