- Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell said on Tuesday that the Senate would “begin a process” of considering $ 2,000 stimulus checks for Americans – a move that Democrats and President Donald Trump advocate.
- Trump refused to sign the $ 900 billion COVID-19 relief bill, which includes checks for $ 600, for almost a week, while requiring the legislation to include larger direct payments.
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Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell said on Tuesday that the Senate would “start a process” of considering a proposal to send $ 2,000 stimulus checks to Americans – a move that Democrats and President Donald Trump advocate. .
The Kentucky Republican said direct payments are “linked” to Trump’s two other main demands: an investigation into his allegations of electoral fraud and the end of some protections for technology companies.
“These are the three important issues that the president has linked,” said McConnell. “This week the Senate will start a process to put these three priorities in focus.”
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But McConnell blocked an attempt by Democrats on Tuesday to vote on $ 2,000 checks. Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, called for an immediate upper house vote after the House passed supplementary legislation known as the CASH Act on Monday night with the support of 44 Republicans and all, except two Democrats.
“One question remains today: do Senate Republicans join the rest of America in supporting $ 2,000 checks?” Schumer said on Tuesday.
McConnell’s next move is unclear, but linking Trump’s three demands would likely sink stimulus checks. Democrats have strongly criticized the Republicans’ baseless allegations that there was widespread electoral fraud in the 2020 elections. They must also oppose a Republican Party effort to amend or repeal Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, something Trump advocated to punish companies like Facebook and Twitter for what he argues is a prejudice against conservatives.
Senator Bernie Sanders expressed frustration at McConnell’s suggestion that he would not take an isolated vote on stimulus checks.
“The House has approved, to their credit, a simple and straightforward project. We are not going to muddy the waters,” Sanders told reporters on Capitol Hill on Tuesday. “Do you want $ 2,000 or not? Let’s not talk about so-called electoral fraud, abortion or anything else. This is what the American people want to know: which side are they on now?”
McConnell’s action is the latest in a protracted and tumultuous debate over whether the federal government should send Americans a second round of stimulus checks as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread across the country and officials public health officials warn that the worst days are yet to come.
Trump’s demand for direct payments more generous than the $ 600 checks in the $ 900 billion COVID-19 relief package puts Republican lawmakers, who cited the national debt in opposition to larger checks, in a complicated position.
It is politically dangerous for many Republicans to break with Trump. Illustrating the influence that Trump maintains among Republican Party voters, Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, Georgia’s Republicans facing the runoff elections on January 5, both announced on Tuesday that they would support $ 2,000 payments. His Democratic opponents, Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, also said that direct payments of $ 600 are too small.
The Georgia elections will determine Senate control – Republicans need to win only one seat to maintain a 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 continued to oppose higher direct payments. On Tuesday, Senator Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma said $ 2,000 “is such a huge number” and said he “would have a hard time supporting it” Senator John Cornyn of Texas told reporters that the focus of Trump in expanding direct payments “undermines the very positive impact” of the $ 900 billion bailout package.
Senator Susan Collins of Maine said that stimulus checks should not be mixed with other issues such as Section 230 and that she had concerns about $ 2,000 payments 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, is a high income,” she told reporters on Tuesday. market. “So I don’t know if it’s possible to put a limit on that or make some changes, or if this is going to be an all-or-nothing boat.”
Trump refused to sign Congress’s $ 900 billion bailout bill for nearly a week, while demanding that the legislation include higher direct payments and cut foreign aid. In signing it on Sunday, he said the Senate would vote on his $ 2,000 checks and some of his other pet issues. But McConnell did not mention any of Trump’s demands to the Senate in his statement after the president’s signature.
The president tweeted twice on checks on Tuesday, demanding that Senate Republicans “be tough!”
“Unless Republicans have a desire to die, and that is also the right thing to do, they must approve payments of $ 2,000 as soon as possible. $ 600 IS NOT ENOUGH!” He wrote. “Also, get rid of Section 230 – Don’t let Big Tech steal our country and don’t let Democrats steal the presidential election.”
But Senate Republicans have consistently opposed even the direct payments of $ 1,200 that Democrats have defended. House minority leader Kevin McCarthy blocked a previous effort by Democrats to approve the $ 2,000 checks, and a number of Trump’s closest allies in the House voted against the Money Act on Monday.