Time is passing towards a possible shutdown of US federal agencies, as a general spending bill aimed at financing the government remains unsigned. Without President Donald Trump’s signature or the passing of an interim measure to finance operations, a partial shutdown begins shortly after midnight on Monday.
The president also did not sign a critical pandemic relief package and government funding before midnight on Saturday, which means that the increase in unemployment benefits and eviction protections expired at 12:01 am on Sunday.
Trump harshly criticized the legislation earlier this week and on Saturday indicated his continuing objections to it.
Trump tweeted: “I just want to give our great people $ 2,000, instead of the meager $ 600 that is now in the account. Also, stop the billions of dollars in ‘pork’. “
I simply want to give our great people $ 2,000 instead of the meager $ 600 that is now in the account. Also, stop the billions of dollars in “pork”.
– Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 26, 2020
Trump’s support for bigger checks was seen as a rebuke to members of his Republican party, which resisted Democratic efforts to negotiate larger payments.
Republican Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania told Fox News Sunday: “I understand that he wants to be remembered for defending big checks, but the danger is that he will be remembered for chaos, misery and erratic behavior if he allows himself that (coronavirus relief bill) to expire ”.
A longtime critic of Trump, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, told ABC’s “This Week” program: “What the president is doing now is incredibly cruel. Many millions of people are missing out on their extended unemployment benefits. They will be evicted from their apartments. There is money in that account. “
Fourteen million Americans will lose unemployment insurance, according to data from the Department of Labor.
Democratic President-elect Joe Biden asked Trump to sign the bill.
“This abdication of responsibility has devastating consequences. … This project is critical. It needs to be sanctioned now,” said Biden, who is spending the holidays in his home state of Delaware in a statement.
The president is spending time at his Florida resort along the Atlantic Ocean, while Democrats and Republicans wait to see if he will sign the $ 2.3 trillion spending law, which includes $ 900 billion for coronavirus relief and the rest for government spending until next September. The bill was sent from Washington to his Mar-a-Lago club to be available if he decides to make it law.
Trump did not specifically threaten to veto the bill. But he surprised lawmakers from both parties by calling it “disgrace” after it passed the House and Senate, ending months of negotiations in which Trump was barely involved.
Congress is planning to return to work on Monday, interrupting its usual Christmas break, and may take a palliative measure to extend government funding for a few days or weeks while the impasse is resolved.
House members are also expected to vote on Monday to overturn Trump’s veto of a $ 740 billion bill that authorizes the country’s defense programs. If the House vote is approved, the Senate could vote on the measure as early as Tuesday. A two-thirds vote in both chambers is required to override a presidential veto.
Trump criticized the defense project on several fronts, arguing without explanation that the project benefits China, and demanded the removal of language that allows for the renaming of military bases that honor Confederate leaders who separated from the United States in the 1860s. demanded the addition of a clause that makes it easier to sue social media companies for content posted by their users.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called Trump’s veto “an impressive act of irresponsibility that harms our troops.”
Pelosi, however, accepted Trump’s request for direct payments of $ 2,000 to everyone except the highest-paid American workers, and on Thursday used a legislative maneuver to force Republicans to challenge Trump by blocking the increase.
Pelosi announced plans to force another vote on the matter on Monday. It can pass the House, where Democrats have a majority, but it is unlikely to advance in the Republican-controlled Senate.
The White House declined to release details of the president’s schedule during the Christmas holiday. It just said, “During the holiday season, President Trump will continue to work tirelessly for the American people. His agenda includes many meetings and calls.”
However, Trump was photographed playing golf on his Florida course, near Mar-a-Lago. Reports say he was accompanied over the course of Christmas Day by his close ally, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. Trump also spent Sunday at his golf course in West Palm Beach.