TRUMP DEMAND
Trump’s demand on relief bill puts pressure on Republicans
for $2,000 aid checks emboldens Democrats, perplexes GOP.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s demand that a sweeping coronavirus relief package include bigger aid checks for Americans has emboldened Democrats and forced GOP lawmakers into a decision on whether to break with their party’s leader on a key piece of legislation.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., announced Wednesday that Democrats who favor the $2,000 checks proposed by Trump plan to call up the idea for a vote today
The debate is unfolding against the backdrop of another possible government shutdown, with funding set to lapse starting Tuesday unless Trump signs the legislation, which combines the virus relief package with a broader spending plan to keep federal operations running through September.
In a video that caught lawmakers by surprise, Trump on Tuesday night decried some items in the legislation as too costly while advocating for larger, $2,000 stimulus checks for individuals rather than the current $600.
Republicans led by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky have resisted $2,000 checks as too costly. GOP leaders were silent on the issue Wednesday, with neither McConnell nor Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, the House minority leader, responding to requests for comment.
McConnell and McCarthy were not told in advance of the video in which Trump outlined his complaints over the package, and they called aides to ask what was going on, according to three people familiar with the matter.
On a conference call Wednesday, House Republican lawmakers complained that Trump threw them under the bus, according to one Republican who was on the private call and was granted anonymity to discuss it. Most had voted for the package, and they urged leaders to hit the cable news shows to explain its benefits, the person said.
Trump did not specifically vow to use his veto power. McCarthy said during the conference call that Trump is undecided on a veto and urged them to support the changes he wanted, according to three Republicans with knowledge of the conversation.
The year-end package was part of a hard-fought compromise, a 5,000-plus-page bill that includes the pandemic aid and $1.4 trillion to fund government agencies.
The relief package would establish a temporary $300-per-week supplemental jobless benefit, along with a new round of subsidies for hard-hit businesses, restaurants and theaters and money for schools, health care providers and renters facing eviction.
Even though Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin represented the White House in negotiations, Trump assailed the bipartisan effort in the video he tweeted out Tuesday night, criticizing provisions in the broader government funding package and calling the bill a “disgrace.”
The final text of the bill was still being prepared by Congress and was not expected to be sent to the White House for Trump’s signature before today or Friday, an aide said.
Trump could veto the legislation by doing nothing — since the bill has yet to be transmitted to Trump, the 10day veto window will expire after the current Congress adjourns on Jan. 3. But unemployment insurance benefits are set to expire for 12 million Americans on Saturday.
While Democrats are happy to increase the size of the stimulus checks, aides said, they will not be willing to pursue a wholesale renegotiation of the relief package or the spending provisions for fiscal 2021.
Pelosi’s plan to seek approval for $2,000 checks would require the assent of every House member, and on Wednesday she sought to put the onus on Republicans to allow the measure to move forward.
“Mr. President, sign the bill to keep government open!” Pelosi tweeted Wednesday. “Urge McConnell and McCarthy to agree with the Democratic unanimous consent request for $2,000 direct payments! This can be done by noon on Christmas Eve!”
Under long-standing House practice, such live unanimous consent requests are not in order unless they have been pre-cleared by each party’s leadership. But that policy is established at the speaker’s discretion, and Pelosi has the power to change it.