Vice President Pence will speak to Republican and Democratic senators on Tuesday about the coronavirus following the first two U.S. deaths from the disease, according to multiple officials.

The vice president will make the trip down Pennsylvania Avenue to speak to senators about the virus and field questions about the government's response. He will attend the GOP weekly lunch and brief Democrats separately at their conference lunch.

Pence will likely face tough questions from Democrats and some Republicans who have been critical of certain aspects of the Trump administration's handling of the virus. Democrats in particular were unimpressed by the president putting Pence in charge of the government response, citing his lack of medical expertise and track record as Indiana governor on public health issues.

ADVERTISEMENT

"Senate Democrats are looking forward to the opportunity to directly press Vice President Pence about the Trump administration's efforts to combat the coronavirus and keep Americans safe," a senior Democratic aide said of the meeting.

The meetings come as lawmakers are negotiating a supplemental spending package to combat the coronavirus.

The Trump administration last week submitted a $2.5 billion supplemental funding request to Congress, a figure lawmakers in both parties viewed as insufficient. The final package is likely to be between $6 billion and $8 billion, according to one source familiar with negotiations.

The White House has indicated it hopes to have President Trump Donald John TrumpBarr criticizes DOJ in speech declaring all agency power 'is invested in the attorney general' Military leaders asked about using heat ray on protesters outside White House: report Powell warns failure to reach COVID-19 deal could 'scar and damage' economy MORE sign off on the spending package as early as this week and no later than next week. Without the supplemental legislation, federal agencies project to have enough funding to address the virus to last into April, officials said.

Florida and New York state over the weekend reported their first confirmed cases of the coronavirus.

Two people in Washington state have died from the virus, and Gov. Jay Inslee Jay Robert InsleeBarr asked prosecutors to explore charging Seattle mayor over protest zone: report Bottom line Oregon senator says Trump's blame on 'forest management' for wildfires is 'just a big and devastating lie' MORE (D) declared a state of emergency to free up additional resources to fight the outbreak.

Pence and other government officials have been adamant that the risk for infection in the U.S. still remains low, but that they expect additional cases to be reported.

Jordain Carney contributed