U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin warned Republican senators on Tuesday that the country's unemployment rate could hit 20% if they failed to act on a proposed coronavirus rescue package, a person familiar with the closed-door meeting said.

Mnuchin met with senators to persuade them to pass a $1 trillion stimulus package that would send cash to Americans within two weeks, and backstop airlines and other companies. The Senate is majority-controlled by President Donald Trump's fellow Republicans.

A Treasury official said Mnuchin was not providing a forecast but trying to illustrate the potential risks of inaction.