President Trump went to Palm Beach, Florida on Wednesday to celebrate Christmas with relief from coronavirus and government spending in limbo due to his dissatisfaction with the package.
Trump will spend the holidays at his Mar-a-Lago resort golf club.
The president sent shock waves across Washington on Tuesday night, when he posted a video on Twitter of himself exploding the bus package. House and Senate leaders reached an agreement on coronavirus relief after months of stalemate.
TRUMP PUSHES FOR LARGER STIMULUS CHECKS IN THE 11TH HOUR STIMULATION DEMANDS
The president has five days to sign the bill or the government will close.
He demanded that lawmakers change the approved coronavirus stimulus package on Monday to include checks for $ 2,000 for individuals instead of checks for $ 600. He also insisted that “useless and unnecessary” items be cut from the package. year-end spending attached to pandemic aid.
The $ 1.3 trillion general financing package was combined with the $ 900 billion coronavirus stimulus project, while Congress was rushing out of Washington for Christmas. The financing package was previously negotiated in Congress, when lawmakers finally reached an agreement on aid for coronavirus over the weekend. The combination of the two allowed it to be done in one vote.
“I am asking Congress to amend this bill and increase the ridiculously low amount from $ 600 to $ 2,000, or $ 4,000 for a couple,” Trump said in his Twitter video. “I am also asking Congress to immediately get rid of the wasteful and unnecessary items of this legislation and send me an appropriate bill, or else the next government will have to deliver a package, and maybe that government is me.”
Trump added: “For example, among the more than 5,000 pages of this bill, which nobody in Congress has read because of its length and complexity – it’s called the COVID relief bill, but it has almost nothing to do with COVID. “
TRUMP CALL FOR $ 2,000 STIMULATION CHECKS RECEIVED – BY CRITICS PELOSI, AOC, SANDERS
Trump has not issued a direct veto threat and can still sign the bill if lawmakers and their teams do not return – although it is unclear whether they will return or not, according to Congressional sources. He could also use a rare “pocket veto”, clinging to legislation and refusing to act on it.
This would force Congress to essentially restart the legislative process. It would put the government at risk of a standstill again, as it is currently operating with a provisional seven-day spending account.
Majority leader Senator Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Said nothing about his next steps after the president condemned the package. Meanwhile, Democrats reveled in the president’s call for more stimulus funding. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, DN.Y., said her chamber will attempt to approve a $ 2,000 stimulus check project by unanimous consent, which means that if a member opposes the project it will fail.
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By forcing a voice vote, Democrats urge Republicans to go against President Trump’s wishes for bigger checks.
An alert from the Federal Aviation Administration restricts airspace over the Mar-a-Lago resort until January 1.
Fox News’ Tyler Olson contributed to this report.