According to Senate rules, Sanders has the ability to keep the camera in during the holiday week and probably mess up Sens’s campaign schedules. David Perdue (R-Ga.) And Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.). The two face January 5 runoff runs for Senate control against Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, who are campaigning with $ 2,000 checks.
A source close to Sanders said that Senate disputes were a factor in his decision – part of an attempt to keep Perdue and Loeffler in DC and focus the campaign on its position on the $ 2,000 checks. Sanders also threatened to shut down the government earlier this month if the coronavirus relief bill did not include direct payments; ultimately it included checks for up to $ 600 and the government remained open, although now Trump wants to go up a lot more.
While the veto override can be obstructed, as Sanders plans to do, it is a rare procedural move because the veto override already requires 67 votes and the obstruction is simply a postponement tactic, according to the Congressional Research Service.
Sanders said he hoped McConnell would allow voting on checks on Wednesday.
“The American people are desperate and the Senate needs to do its job before leaving the city,” said Sanders. “It would be unscrupulous, especially after the House did the right thing, for the Senate to simply leave Washington without voting for it.”
It is unclear whether there are 60 Senate votes for $ 2,000 checks, which would require at least 12 Republicans to join the chamber’s 48 Democratic Caucus members. Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer plans to try to force the vote on the bill approved by the House on Tuesday, although any member of the Senate may object and many conservatives object to this level of spending.
Still, Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) Endorsed the $ 2,000 checks on Monday night and some House Republicans backed the floor, showing a split in the party over whether to give Trump the checks he requires as he prepares to step down in January.