“We could have passed the bill four days ago, but our colleagues on the other hand intervened against the president’s wishes and blocked it,” House Ways and Means chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.) Said Monday. said.
Action is now turning to the Senate, where it is unclear whether the House will even accept the House proposal, despite Trump insisting Sunday night that he obtain an agreement from Republican leaders. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer will try to pass the House bill on Tuesday with unanimous consent, but Republicans are expected to object. Many GOP senators have previously resisted higher stimulus checks.
Unless all 100 senators work together, it will take a few days to get a vote on the proposal, and it will have to get 60 votes. It’s a steep path to approval – and it’s all happening during a holiday break for Congress.
But even if Democrats cannot guarantee higher payments to the public, Trump has given them the opportunity to embrace a politically popular stance and split the IDP in the process. Only 44 House Republics voted for the larger checks, with 130 against.
“The president of the United States has put it forward as something he wants to see,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi said before the vote. “I hope the Republicans in the Senate will share that view.”
Elected President Joe Biden also commented on Monday, telling reporters he was in favor of raising the checks to $ 2,000. Trump was extraordinarily quiet on Monday, with the only report the president saw on his golf course in West Palm Beach.
Schumer told a news conference on Monday that Trump must be much more outspoken in demanding Republican support if he wants the stimulus increase.
“These Republicans of the Senate have followed you through thick and thin,” Schumer said. “To the president: talking is not enough. Deed. Call the phone and get the Republicans in the Senate to support $ 2000 relief. ‘
In a sign that the bigger checks are getting some favor among conservatives, sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) Endorsed the $ 2,000 payments when the House voted: ‘I share many of my colleagues’ concerns about the long-term consequences of additional spending, but we can not ignore the fact that millions of working class families across the country still needs relief. ”
However, Democrats expect many Republicans to use the cost increase as a justification for not supporting the bill. Increasing direct payments to $ 2,000 will cost about $ 464 billion, compared to about $ 160 billion, according to a congressional estimate released Monday.
A handful of Republicans, including Ways and Means Ranking member Kevin Brady (R-Texas), have spoken out against the bill, citing the extra cost or saying the money could be better spent elsewhere in the economy.
The House would already be in session Monday to send another Trump ripple – the president’s veto of the annual defense policy bill. The bill, which has been signed into law for nearly 60 consecutive years, passed both chambers earlier this month with veto-proof majorities. If the House and Senate succeed this week in contesting Trump, it will be the first veto domination of his presidency.
Late Monday, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) Said he would block the Senate’s consideration of veto rule until Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell agreed to put the bill on the stimulus check to a vote. The estranged couple Sanders and Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) Teamed up to aim for $ 1,200 stimulus tests earlier this month.
The House Stimulation vote put off an extraordinary frenetic week in Washington on Monday, a city that, even because of its unpredictable political game, is usually quiet during Christmas and New Year.
A week ago, Congress finally broke an eight-month log jam to pass the much-needed bill after days of drama and hard negotiations. Lawmakers quickly jumped out of the city to be blinded mid-week by a video Trump posted on Twitter against the bill.
The ambush left Washington in a limbo for several days as the president continued to criticize the amounts of direct payment negotiated by his own finance minister, Steven Mnuchin, and the levels of foreign aid that asked by his own White House.
The move also set up a chicken coop with congressional leaders, who refused to pull lawmakers back to Capitol Hill to address Trump’s demands and start making contingency plans in case the president would allow government funding to lapse Monday at midnight.
The House first tried to pass the bill that would increase direct payments on Christmas Eve with unanimous consent, but Republicans objected. Over the weekend, Trump continued to push against the relief package to finally sign it late Sunday after a few days of lobbying by some of his closest congressmen, including Senator Lindsey Graham (RS.C.) and Kevin McCarthy, leader of the House Minority.
While Trump avoided a government strike, millions of struggling Americans caused at least a temporary decline in critical unemployment benefits. the programs expired the day after Christmas and were renewed in the aid package.
In addition to unemployment benefits and direct payments, the standard provides about $ 900 billion in coronavirus funding for schools, small businesses and vaccine distribution.
Burgess Everett contributed to this report.