Nancy Pelosi said a stimulus package must be agreed in the next 48 hours if it is to pass before the election, as the Democratic speaker of the House of Representatives turned up the heat on senior Republicans over coronavirus aid.

Ms Pelosi will meet Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury secretary, on Monday as the two look to thrash out differences over proposed relief measures which could amount to about $2tn.

The pair have been negotiating for weeks over the latest proposals, which are intended to alleviate the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic and are likely to include increased unemployment benefits. The pair spoke for more than an hour on Saturday, after which Ms Pelosi said the two sides still did not agree on what the bill should say about testing and about protecting minority communities.