Sen Lindsey Graham, RS.C. backed President Trump’s call for $ 2,000 stimulus checks Friday after Senate Majority Leader and other Senate Republicans blocked a final bid for greater direct payments in the latest coronavirus relief package.
Trump and lawmakers on both sides of the political path have called on the Senate to approve direct payments of $ 2,000, compared to the $ 600 to be distributed starting this week. But Mitch McConnell and other Republicans ended efforts to secure an independent vote before the current session of Congress.
GOP LED SENATE BLOCKS $ 2,000 STIMULUS CHECK VOTE AGAIN
“With all due respect to my Republican colleagues, a direct payment of $ 2,000 for individuals and families struggling is not socialism,” Graham wrote on Twitter. “In my opinion, it is necessary in the times in which we live.”
McConnell and his allies argued that a proposed increase in the volume of direct payments would further inflate national debt and send money to U.S. families without a serious need. Earlier this week, he tabled a bill that would link a $ 2,000 vote to a package that includes the repeal of Article 230 and the establishment of an Electoral Integrity Commission, including IDP-backed initiatives.
McConnell doubled his stance on Friday as he blocked last-minute attempts to block an independent vote on the checks, arguing that the package set out by prominent Democrats would ‘essentially be socialism for rich people’.
Graham pushed back his position from his Republican counterpart.
“Going from $ 600 to $ 2000 does not make you a socialist,” Graham added. “Mr. President, keep fighting for the American people who are suffering. Insist on an independent voice. ‘
The Republican leadership of the Senate has drawn the president’s anger after the upper house voted to block Trump’s veto of the National Defense Act. Trump called the vote “pathetic” and once again targeted Republicans for their failure to support larger direct payments.
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“Now they want to give people plagued by the China virus $ 600, rather than the $ 2000 they so desperately need. Not fair or clever!” Trump tweeted.