The U.S. House of Representatives voted Monday to pass a bill to $ 600 stimulus checks up to $ 2,000, with 275 members voting in favor of the bill and 134 voting against it. The bill received the required two-thirds majority of the members to pass the House.
But it faces an uncertain future in the Senate, where a two-thirds majority is also needed to send the bill to President Trump’s desk. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has not indicated whether he will bring a vote on the larger checks to the floor.
Mr. Trump last week called on Congress to increase stimulus checks to $ 2,000, threatening not to sign the COVID-19 emergency relief package that gives Americans $ 600 checks. But on Sunday night, the president submitted and signed the legislation.
Last week, Speaker Nancy Pelosi immediately jumped at the president’s insistence on $ 2,000 checks, setting Monday’s vote on the House floor.
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Nearly all Democrats voted for the legislation to increase the checks, and most members who voted against the increase are Republicans.
A handful of Senate Republicans, including Senator Josh Hawley and Senator Lindsey Graham, Trump’s ally, have supported the idea of bigger stimulus tests for all Americans, but it is likely to meet friction from the more fiscally conservative members of the party.
This is an evolving story and will be updated.
—Kimberly Brown reported.