Trump’s pressure for $ 2K stimulus checks hits a dead end in the Senate

President TrumpDonald Trump Trump to shorten the trip to Florida, returns to Washington on Thursday Intel vice president says government agency cyber attack “may have started earlier” Secret Service making changes to presidential details amid concerns over members current aligned with TrumpThe company’s effort to increase the amount of stimulus checks from $ 600 to $ 2,000 appears to be dead in the Republican-controlled Senate.

Trump is stepping up calls for Congress to increase the amount provided by a recently approved $ 2.3 trillion deal, an idea that quickly won the support of the Democratic leadership, some House Republicans and an increasing number of Republicans in the United States. Senate.

But a bill to increase checks faces major obstacles – political, political and procedural – that make it increasingly unlikely that lawmakers will bring the legislation to Trump’s table by noon on Sunday, the deadline for the current Congress.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnellAddison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellKey poll test on overturning Trump’s veto set for Friday Jeff Stein: Battle over K direct payments ‘putting tremendous pressure’ on Republican caucus Dow closes at record at the end of the year rally MORE (R-Ky.) He promised that the Senate would not pass an independent check bill, giving a death sentence for the already difficult chance that the bill passed by the House could pass through Congress without significant changes.

“The Senate will not split the three issues that President Trump has linked just because Democrats are afraid to address two of them. The Senate will not be pressured to send more borrowed money to the hands of wealthy Democratic friends who do not need help,” said McConnell .

The Republican Party leader argued that the House passed the bill “does not align with what President Trump suggested” and “does not have a realistic way to move quickly through the Senate”.

Sen. Pat ToomeyPatrick (Pat) Joseph ToomeyThe government used the Patriot Act to collect records of website visitors in 2019 The appeals court ruled that the mass collection of telephone data from the NSA is illegal. (R-Pa.) And McConnell blocked the House measure on Wednesday, the second consecutive day it faced setbacks. McConnell blocked the same legislation twice on Tuesday, when the Democratic Senate leader Charles SchumerChuck SchumerMcConnell blocks voting on K checks, signals new package The Democratic Party chairman of New York warns Ocasio-Cortez against challenging the preview of Schumer’s Sunday programs: relief from COVID-19 awaiting Trump’s signature; government continues vaccine launch MORE (NY) tried to approve it and when Sen. Bernie SandersBernie Sanders The Ex-Sanders spokesman describes how House progressives can force a Medicare stimulus check bill for all K votes blocked in the Senate for the second day. Stimulus check, veto annulment debates weigh on the Georgia Senate second rounds MORE (I-Vt.) Tried to establish a vote.

McConnell offered a competing measure that would link an increase in checks to the removal of a legal shield for technology companies and the creation of a commission to review the 2020 elections. But that proposal is seen as a failure for Democrats, stressing that the bill of the Republican leader also cannot pass the Senate.

“There is no other game in the city besides the project of the Chamber. … The house is down for the year. Any modification or addition, the House bill cannot become law before the end of this Congress, ”said Schumer.

If the Senate approves anything other than the exact language of the House bill, the measure would need to be returned to the Capitol and passed a second time by the House, where lawmakers have already left the city and are not expected to return until Sunday for the 117th Congress to take office.

The stalemate almost guarantees that, in the absence of a last-minute deal, the Senate is unlikely to approve a check proposal before noon on Sunday. If Congress fails to act before then, they will have to start all over again.

The Senate would already need an agreement just to get a check vote, because lawmakers are currently on the brink of debunking an unrelated defense bill by Saturday. Securing such an agreement, the senators acknowledge, is highly unlikely.

Asked whether a check bill would not pass before Sunday’s deadline, the senator John CornynJohn CornynSenate is about to overturn the veto of Trump’s defense bill. Push for $ 1,000 stimulus checks settled in the Senate. Juan Williams: The Republican Party’s problem with women of color MORE (R-Texas) said: “I think, given the circumstances, I think it’s probably true.”

“They are not willing to consider any other piece, any other clause in the bill … and they want to spend the money on people who, frankly, suffered no financial loss during the pandemic,” he added.

Asked about the potential political coup against Republicans for preventing Americans from receiving additional money, Cornyn added: “After spending $ 4 trillion? No, not in any normal world. “

Sen. John ThuneJohn Randolph ThuneHawley will challenge the results of the Electoral College in the Senate Senate about to overturn the veto of Trump’s defense bill Trump targets Republicans in Congress on several fronts MORE (RS.D.), McConnell’s No. 2, added that it was difficult to see how the Senate could end work on a check proposal without a deal, which he acknowledged was unlikely.

“Dems are not going to give us [Section] 230 and I think that, on our side, it is probably difficult to obtain consent for controls, ”he said.

The outcome of bipartisan pressure to increase the dollar value for direct payments comes at a time when the debate has generated deep divisions among Senate Republicans, underscoring the difficulty supporters faced to put a bill on Trump’s desk.

Some Senate Republicans supported the idea, including Sens. Kelly LoefflerKelly LoefflerOssoff closes Loeffler’s criticism of Warnock: She’s ‘campaigning with a Klansman’ Jeff Stein: Battle for K direct payments ‘putting tremendous pressure’ on the Republican bench Kemp dismisses Trump’s request to resign as ‘a distraction’ MORE (Ga.) And David PerdueDavid PerdueOssoff closes Loeffler’s criticism of Warnock: She’s ‘campaigning with a Klansman’ Jeff Stein: Battle for K direct payments ‘putting tremendous pressure’ on the Republican bench Kemp dismisses Trump’s request to resign as ‘a distraction’ MORE (Ga.) Who are fighting for their political lives and for the fate of the battle for the majority in the Senate.

But several others are opposed to increased funding or have concerns about the structure of the project approved by the Chamber. As the House bill increased the value of checks, while maintaining the same phasing-out structure, higher-income families could be eligible for payments.

“I think it is a very inefficient way,” said Thune, saying he was opposed to the increase in value. “If we want to have a discussion about what else we can, I think we can do that next year.”

Sen. Lamar AlexanderLamar AlexanderThe vaccine, a Burrito and more: 7 lighter and more memorable moments of 2020 At COVID-19, foreign policy elites are as polarized as the public The Hill’s Morning Report – Finally, Congress reaches a relief agreement COVID-19 MORE (R-Tenn.) He argued that the recent bill passed by Congress was “targeted”, but “the $ 2,000 problem is not addressed. It goes to people who have not lost money during this. “

Toomey, who promised to block any attempt to vote on a draft check, argued on Wednesday that it would be irresponsible for Congress to give the green light to more money, part of which would go to individuals who did not lose their jobs during the coronavirus pandemic.

“How does that make any sense?” he asked.

Sen. Mitt RomneyWillard (Mitt) Mitt Romney Bipartisan lawmakers urge Trump to immediately sign or veto the coronavirus relief bill Trump’s legacy: a lasting contempt for the truth? The memo: Could Pence run and win in 2024? MORE (R-Utah), the party’s presidential candidate in 2012, pointed to the cost of increasing checks.

“Someone has to pay for this,” Romney said. “We can’t just have free money. There has to be taxation. We have to pay interest on the debt ”.

McConnell offered his competing proposal, arguing that it aligns with what Trump is looking for. In his signature statement on Sunday, Trump said the Senate “would initiate the process for a vote that would increase checks to $ 2,000”, in addition to revoking Section 230 and starting “an election fraud investigation”.

But Republicans are not convinced to tie Section 230 to the fight against stimulus checks, especially after they left the technological battle out of the National Defense Authorization Act, despite Trump’s demands.

Sen. Susan CollinsSusan Margaret CollinsSenate is about to overturn Trump’s defense bill. Pushing for $ 1,000 stimulus checks reaches the Senate on the trail: The political winners of 2020 MORE (R-Maine) argued that the checks and Section 230 were “two separate issues”.

Cornyn, who is close to McConnell, said that revoking the liability shield used by technology companies was not “relevant” to the debate over increasing the number of stimulus checks.

“I think we need to solve 230, but I think this is not the right way to do this,” said Cornyn. “I am in favor of doing something, but not this week, not on this account.”