WASHINGTON (AP) – Threatening to overwhelm Congress’ massive government aid and funding package, President Donald Trump’s demand for bigger checks to help Americans is forcing Republicans traditionally wary of such spending in an uncomfortable test of allegiance.
On Thursday, House Democrats who also favor checks for $ 2,000 will almost challenge Republicans to break with Trump, calling his proposal for a vote on Christmas Eve. The president’s last-minute objection could undermine critical legislation amid a violent pandemic and deep economic uncertainty. Its attacks could cause a shutdown of the federal government early next week.
“Right when you think you’ve seen it all,” wrote Mayor Nancy Pelosi, in a letter to colleagues.
“The whole country knows that it is urgent for the president to sign this bill, both to relieve the coronavirus and to keep the government open.”
Republicans led by Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell resisted $ 2,000 checks because they were too expensive. House Republicans are expected to block the vote, but Democrats can try again on Monday.
The president’s last-minute objections are establishing a definitive confrontation with his own Republican Party in his final days in office.
Instead of winning the comprehensive aid package, one of the biggest in history, Trump is attacking Republican Party leaders during the presidential election – for recognizing Joe Biden as president-elect and rejecting his campaign to challenge the results of the Electoral College when they are cleared in Congress on January 6.
The president’s pressure to increase direct payments for most Americans from $ 600 to $ 2,000 for individuals and $ 4,000 for couples shares the party with a politically painful test of loyalty, including for Republican senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, who struggle to maintain their seats on January 5th. special elections in Georgia.
Republican lawmakers traditionally refuse large spending and many have never fully embraced Trump’s populist approach. Their political DNA tells them to oppose a more expensive aid package. But now they are being asked to support the president.
Republican Party leaders were silent on Wednesday, with neither McConnell nor Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the minority leader in the House, speaking publicly.
In a conference call, Republican House legislators complained that Trump threw them under the bus, according to a Republican on the private conference call, and granted anonymity to discuss the matter. Most voted for the package and asked leaders to watch cable news programs to explain its benefits, the person said.
McCarthy later sent a letter to colleagues suggesting that Republicans would come up with their own proposal, taking Trump’s own complaints about foreign aid to “reexamine how our tax dollars are spent abroad”.
Democrats took advantage of Republican confusion to push for priority. Jon Ossoff, Perdue’s Democratic opponent, simply tweeted on Tuesday night: “Checks for $ 2,000 now.”
When Congress left town for the holiday, the year-end package was part of a hotly contested deal, a massive 5,000-page bill that includes COVID help and $ 1.4 trillion to fund agencies until September and meet other priorities.
The relief bill that Trump is criticizing would establish an additional $ 300 a week temporary unemployment benefit, along with a new round of hard-hit business, restaurant and theater subsidies and money for schools, health care providers and tenants facing eviction.
Although Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin represented the White House in the negotiations, Trump attacked the bipartisan effort in a video he tweeted on Tuesday night, suggesting that he cannot sign the legislation.
Protesting a series of provisions in the broader government financing package, including the pillars of foreign aid included each year, Trump called the project a “disgrace”.
Trump has not specifically promised to use his veto power, and there may be enough support in Congress to replace him if he does. But the consequences would be serious if Trump reversed the legislation. That would mean no federal aid for struggling Americans and small businesses, and no additional resources to help distribute vaccines. To make matters worse, as lawmakers linked the pandemic relief bill to a comprehensive financing measure, the government would close on December 29.
The final text of the 5,000-page bill is still being prepared by Congress and should not be sent to the White House for Trump’s signature before Thursday or Friday, an aide said.
This complicates the schedule ahead. If Trump vetoes the package, or allows it to expire with a “pocket veto” at the end of the year, Americans will be without large amounts of COVID help.
A resolution can be forced on Monday. That’s when a provisional funding bill passed by Congress to keep the government funded while the paperwork was being compiled expires, with the risk of a federal strike.
Democrats are considering another interim measure to at least keep the government running until Biden is sworn in on January 20, according to two anonymous advisers to discuss private negotiations.
The House was already scheduled to return on Monday, and the Senate on Tuesday, for a vote to overturn Trump’s veto on the mandatory defense bill. Democrats may try again to approve Trump’s $ 2,000 check proposal, as well as the government’s temporary funding measure to prevent a standstill, advisers said.
Pressure for greater payments to Americans has attracted a rare common cause between Trump and some of the most liberal members of Congress. Pelosi and the Democrats said they fought for the highest stipends during prolonged negotiations only to decide on the lowest number, when the Republicans refused.
Pelosi is due to present the president’s proposal on Thursday under a procedure that allows only one legislator to oppose his consideration. It will be carried out during a so-called pro forma session, with few legislators expected. McCarthy and the Republicans are willing to object.
Republicans are reluctant to spend more on pandemic relief and only agreed to the big end-of-year package when the time for a final deal was thinning. Senator Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader in the Senate, said “Trump needs to sign the bill to help people and keep the government open,” and Congress would step up more aid later.
The Senate passed the huge aid package by 92 votes to 6, after the House passed it 359 to 53. Those total votes would be enough to override a veto if Trump decided to take that step.
Biden applauded lawmakers for his work. He described the package as far from perfect, “but it provides vital relief at a critical time.”
He also said that more relief will be needed in the coming months.