- Senate Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that the Senate will begin a process of considering $ 2,000 stimulus checks for Americans – a measure that Democrats and President Donald Trump have called for.
- For almost a week, Trump has refused to sign the $ 900 billion COVID-19 bill, which includes $ 600 checks, while demanding that the legislation include the larger direct payments.
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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that the Senate will “begin a process” of considering a proposal to send $ 2,000 stimulus checks to Americans – a measure by which Democrats and President Donald Trump insisted.
The Kentucky Republican said the direct payments were “linked” to Trump’s two other major demands: an investigation into his allegations of voter fraud, and an end to protecting tech companies.
“These are the three important topics that the president has linked together,” McConnell said. “The Senate is starting a process this week to put these three priorities in focus.”
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But McConnell on Tuesday blocked an attempt by Democrats to hold a vote on the $ 2,000 checks. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat in New York, called for an immediate vote in the upper chamber after the House passed supplementary legislation, known as the CASH Act, on Monday night with the support of 44 Republicans and all but two Democrats.
“There’s one more question left today: Do Senate Republicans join the rest of the United States in $ 2,000 checks?” Schumer said Tuesday.
McConnell’s next move is unclear, but linking Trump’s three demands is likely to abandon the stimulus tests. Democrats were very critical of Republicans’ unfounded allegations that there was major fraud against voters in the 2020 election. They are also likely to oppose the GOP’s attempt to amend or repeal section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, something Trump has advocated for punishing companies such as Facebook and Twitter for what he claims is a prejudice against conservatives.
Sen. Bernie Sanders expressed frustration over McConnell’s proposal that he not hold a stand-alone vote on the stimulus tests.
“The House gave to their credit a simple, straightforward bill. Let’s not make the water muddy,” Sanders told reporters on Capitol Hill on Tuesday. “Are you for $ 2,000, or not? Let’s not talk about so-called voter fraud or abortion or anything else. That’s what the American people want to know: which side are they on right now?”
McConnell’s move is the latest in a long and tumultuous debate over whether the federal government should send Americans a second round of stimulus checks, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage across the country and public health officials warn that the worst days are yet to come. .
Trump’s demand for broader direct payments than the $ 600 checks in the $ 900 billion COVID-19 relief package puts Republican lawmakers, who have cited national debt in their opposition to larger checks, in a difficult position.
It is politically dangerous for many Republicans to break away from Trump. To illustrate the influence Trump maintains among GOP voters, it makes sense. Georgia Republicans Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, who are facing elections on January 5, both announced Tuesday that they will support $ 2,000 payments. Their Democratic opponents, Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, also said the direct payments of $ 600 were too small.
The election in Georgia will determine the control of the Senate – Republicans only need to win one of the seats to retain their majority.
Several Republican senators, including Marco Rubio of Florida, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Josh Hawley of Missouri, recently expressed support for the $ 2,000 checks.
But many still expressed opposition to larger direct payments. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma on Tuesday called $ 2,000 “such a large number” and said he would find it difficult to support it. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas told reporters Trump’s focus on expanding direct payments “undermines the very positive impact” of the $ 900 billion emergency package.
Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said the stimulus tests should not be confused with other issues such as Section 230, and that she was concerned about payments of $ 2,000 benefiting higher-income Americans.
“For example, for a family of four, the income level at which you would get nothing is more than $ 300,000, and in a state like mine, it’s a high income,” she told reporters on Tuesday. “So I don’t know if it’s possible to put a cap on it or make some changes, and if it’s going to be an all-or-nothing boat.”
For almost a week, Trump refused to sign Congress’s $ 900 billion emergency relief bill, demanding that the legislation include larger direct payments and cut off foreign aid. When he signed it Sunday, he claimed that the Senate would hold a vote on the $ 2,000 checks and some other pets. But McConnell does not mention any of Trump’s demands to the Senate in his statement after the president’s signature.
The president tweeted twice over the checks Tuesday, demanding that Senate Republicans ‘get tough!’
“Unless Republicans have a death wish, and that’s the right thing to do, they should approve the $ 2000 payment as soon as possible. $ 600 is NOT ENOUGH!” he wrote. “Also get rid of Article 230 – Do not let Big Tech steal our country, and do not let the Democrats steal the presidential election.”
But Senate Republicans even opposed the $ 1,200 direct payments demanded by Democrats. House minority leader Kevin McCarthy blocked a previous attempt by Democrats to pass the $ 2,000 checks, and a slew of Trump’s closest allies in the House voted against the CASH law on Monday.