A partisan skirmish in the US Senate cut short a Republican effort to speed up $250 billion in new assistance to small businesses on Friday, forcing Republicans and Democrats to negotiate over how best to help independent firms reeling from the coronavirus outbreak.

Republicans sought quick Senate passage of a small-business measure sought by President Donald Trump's administration, but ran into opposition from Democrats who wanted to add provisions such as funds for hospitals, local governments and food assistance. Democrats then tried to move their own measure, only to see it rejected by Republicans.

Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, provided no clear path forward afterward, telling reporters: “There’ll be additional discussions” involving the leaders of Congress, including Democratic House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Trump later said his administration was working with Congress to replenish the program. “We need both Democrats and Republicans to come together to get this legislation completed and it looks like it's on its way,” he said at his daily coronavirus briefing.

Democrats want to mandate that $60 billion of new small-business money would be set aside for community-based lenders, including minority-run institutions.

“There is a disparity in access to capital in our country. We do not want this tragedy of a coronavirus to exacerbate that disparity or to ossify it, to solidify it,” Pelosi said on a conference call with reporters.

Republicans said funding is needed immediately to replenish a small-business loan program aimed at keeping workers employed.

“To my Democratic colleagues, please – please - do not block emergency aid you do not even oppose just because you want something more,” McConnell said.

The $250 billion in small business loans, which could turn into government-paid grants if lenders meet certain terms, would be in addition to $349 billion already allocated.

Pelosi pushed back on Republican claims of urgency, saying most program money has not yet been disbursed. “We have time to negotiate to see how and where and when we should have more money there,” she said.