WASHINGTON, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday renewed his push for a focused, targeted COVID-19 relief, and denounced Democrats' proposal as "absurd" and "socialist."

"Our country needs more smart, focused relief that is targeted to schools, healthcare, small businesses, &those who are hurting the most," McConnell said in a tweet.

"Not the absurd multi-trillion-dollar socialist wish-lists Democrats have demanded," said McConnell, who has been unanimously reelected as the leader of the Senate Republican caucus.

McConnell's remarks came a few days after he said Congress needs to approve a new COVID-19 relief package before the end of the year as COVID-19 cases are surging across the country.

"Hopefully, the partisan passions that prevented us from doing another rescue package will subside with the election, and I think we need to do it, and I think we need to do it before the end of the year," the Kentucky Republican said at a news conference last week, after winning his reelection bid for a seventh six-year Senate term.

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin have been negotiating a new COVID-19 relief package for months, but have failed to reach an agreement.

The Democrats-controlled House of Representatives in early October passed a 2.2-trillion-U.S.-dollar relief bill. Some Senate Republicans, however, insisted on a relief package below 1 trillion dollars, and failed to advance a 500-billion-dollar bill in late October.

When asked about Republicans' interest in a smaller relief bill, Pelosi told reporters on Friday that "it doesn't appeal to me at all, because they still have not agreed to crush the virus."

Democrats have insisted that the next relief package should include a national testing and tracing plan for the virus, and more aid to state and local governments, which hasn't gained support from Republicans.