President Trump repeated his calls for Congress to approve $ 2,000 coronavirus stimulus checks in one Christmas Day Tweet, announcing that it will hold meetings during the holiday to secure an agreement with lawmakers.
“I made a lot of calls and had meetings at Trump International in Palm Beach, Florida. Why don’t politicians want to give people $ 2,000 instead of just $ 600? It wasn’t their fault, it was China. Give money to our people! ”Trump wrote on Friday afternoon.
The president, who is vacationing at his resort in Mar-a-Lago, refused to sign a $ 2.3 trillion COVID-19 relief bill before leaving Washington on Wednesday.
After months of inactivity, Congress approved a $ 900 billion aid package, but Trump announced in the eleventh hour that he was blocking it, calling it “disgrace”.
He asked Congress to amend the legislation and increase stimulus checks from $ 600 to $ 2,000, while cutting foreign aid and other items in the regular appropriations bill.
The House will meet on Monday to vote on independent legislation for $ 2,000 stimulus checks.
But not all Republicans agree with the president’s demands.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Senator Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), One of the top Republicans in the Senate, said it would be “a mistake” not to sign the coronavirus relief bill.
He predicted that $ 2,000 checks – higher than the $ 1,200 payments approved at the peak of the pandemic in March – would not be approved by the Republican-controlled Senate.
“It took us a long time to get to where we are. I think it would be a mistake to reopen this project, ”he said.
“The best way out of this situation is for the president to sign the bill, and I still hope that’s what he decides.”
On Thursday, members of the “Squadron” introduced their own measure to provide $ 2,000 “survival checks” to struggling American families.
“In this holiday season, families are being forced to make incredibly difficult decisions, whether to keep the lights on or buy groceries,” said Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) In a statement.
“They are suffering through no fault of their own. We must protect public health and the economic well-being of those we serve. Providing $ 2,000 survival checks would give those who are now fighting a lifeline as we continue to fight to defeat COVID-19. “