Trump calls COVID-19 relief bill a ‘disgrace,’ suggests possible veto
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump threatened Tuesday to derail months of bipartisan work in Congress to deliver $900 billion in coronavirus relief, demanding sweeping changes and cuts to a bill he called a “disgrace.”
Trump complained in a video he tweeted that the bill delivered too much money to foreign countries but not enough to Americans.
He noted included funding for the Egyptian military; money for countries like Honduras and Nicaragua; and support for the Kennedy Center in Washington.
“It’s called the COVID relief bill, but it has almost nothing to do with COVID,” Trump said in the video.
The bill provides for a $600 payment to most Americans, but Trump said he’s asking Congress to amend the bill and “increase the ridiculously low $600 to $2,000, or $4,000 for a couple. I am also asking Congress to get rid of the wasteful and unnecessary items from this legislation and to send me a suitable bill.”
The president seized on congressional leaders’ decision to pass the relief bill by combining it with a broader spending plan to fund government operations and the military.
The relief package was part of a hard-fought compromise that includes $1.4 trillion to fund government agencies through September and contains other end-ofsession priorities such as money for cash-starved transit systems, an increase in food stamp bene
fits and about $4 billion to help other nations provide a COVID-19 vaccine for their people.
The bill was brought forward Monday afternoon and sped through the House and Senate in a matter of hours as lawmakers worked to close the books on the year.
While many lawmakers complained about being given so little time to read the bill, they overwhelmingly voted for it as local businesses and constituents seek economic relief from the pandemic.
The bill will establish a temporary $300 per week supplemental jobless benefit and a $600 direct stimulus payment to most Americans, 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.
The Senate cleared the package by a 92-6 vote after the House approved it by another lopsided vote, 359-53.
Those votes totals would be enough to override a veto should Trump decide to take that step.
If Trump chooses not to immediately sign the bill, the government will still be funded through Monday. But the checks that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had said would go out next week could be delayed.
Meanwhile, President-elect Joe Biden called the measure a “down payment” Tuesday and vowed to enter office next month asking lawmakers to return to the negotiating table.
“Congress did its job this week,” he said, “and I can and I must ask them to do it again next year.”
Biden said he planned to ask Congress to pass another bill that would include more funding to help firefighters, police officers and nurses.
He said that his bill would include a new round of stimulus checks to Americans, but that the amount of money they contained would be a matter of negotiation.
His focus, he said, was to have the money necessary to distribute vaccines to 300 million people, to support Americans who have lost jobs because of the pandemic and to help businesses stay open.
“People are desperately hurting,” he said.
The president-elect also expressed empathy for families that have struggled this year through the pandemic and resulting economic uncertainty.
He singled out frontline workers, scientists, researchers, clinical trial participants and those with deployed family members during the holiday season.
“Our hearts are always with you — keep the faith,” said Biden.
He urged Americans to continue to take precautions, particularly during the holidays when many typically come together with family and friends.
Noting the ways that the pandemic has altered his own holiday celebrations, which typically include up to two dozen relatives, Biden said “not this year.”