Senator Brown in Ohio joins Sanders in delaying Senate holiday by more than $ 2,000 stimulus checks

Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown in Ohio said Tuesday he would campaign for a Senate vote on $ 2,000 stimulus checks by joining Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ filibuster on the Senate floor.

Sanders on Tuesday called for a vote to increase direct payments from $ 600 to $ 2,000, a motion that was immediately objected to by Senate Leader Mitch McConnell. When McConnell asked for a vote on incumbent President Donald Trump’s veto over the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Sanders voiced his objection. Sanders’ filibuster could potentially keep the Senate in session until Jan. 1 and take parts of the Senate’s scheduled holiday recess. Brown indicated Tuesday that he will work with Sanders to ensure that the vote on direct payments takes place.

“I will join Senator Sanders,” Brown told MSNBC’s Mehdi Hasan on Tuesday. ‘I mean, I’m in Cleveland now. I’ll be arriving in Washington by car tomorrow afternoon and joining Senator Sanders. I’ll be on the floor and make sure there’s a vote. ‘

Newsweek Sanders’ office issued for comment.

Moroccan Senator Ed Markey is also expected to take part in Sanders’ filibuster. “We have to vote,” Markey said in comments Tuesday. “It has to be yes or no, and we have to do it before the end of this year.”

Trump supports the provision of $ 2,000 direct payments, but legislation he signed on Sunday provided only $ 600. The president has said he will return the bill to Congress with certain “red-line” items that lawmakers have urged to amend. Meanwhile, Trump has vetoed the 2021 NDAA, which outlines all U.S. defense-related spending.

“Unfortunately,” Trump wrote in a December letter to the House, “the law does not contain critical security measures, contains provisions that do not respect our veterans and the history of our military, and contradicts my government’s efforts to make America first. in our national security and foreign policy actions. ‘

The House voted Monday to override Trump’s veto against the NDAA by a vote of 322 to 87. McConnell was trying to get the Senate to vote on the negative presidential veto when Sanders voiced his objection.

With the NDAA vote in limbo and the vote on the $ 2,000 direct payments blocked by McConnell, Sanders tweeted Tuesday that he and Markey were ready to hold senators in Washington until a vote on stimulus checks is conducted.

“Today and @SenMarkey and I are demanding a $ 2,000 vote for working people,” Sanders tweeted Tuesday. “It’s simple – no vote, no new year break for senators.”

McConnell on Tuesday proposed legislation that would make it possible to push stimulus tests up to $ 2,000. McConnell, however, linked the direct payments to requests Trump made that the Democrats denounced. McConnell’s bill contains a repeal of section 230, part of the Communications Decency Act, which protects social media platforms from liability for content posted by third parties.

McConnell’s proposal also calls for the establishment of a dual ‘advisory committee’ to study ‘the integrity and administration of the November 2020 federal general election’. “Trump has repeatedly claimed that widespread electoral fraud caused his loss to President-elect Joe Biden, and has filed lawsuits in swing states in an attempt to reverse the election results. These legal attempts largely failed and many described Trump’s allegations as unfounded.