⏩ Trump threat: President calls relief bill a ‘ disgrace,’ says he may not sign it.

President Trump on Tuesday evening threatened to derail months of bipartisan work in Congress to deliver $ 900 billion in coronavirus relief, demanding checks to Americans that are more than three times as much as those in the bill, which he called a “disgrace.”

The president, who has been preoccupied with the baseless claim that the election was stolen from him, 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. That spending plan includes routine provisions like foreign aid and support for Washington institutions like the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the Smithsonian.

But Mr. Trump portrayed such spending items as “wasteful and unnecessary” additions to the legislation.

“It’s called the Covid relief bill, but it has almost nothing to do with Covid,” Mr. Trump said in a video posted online. “Congress found plenty of money for foreign countries, lobbyists and special interests while sending the bare minimum to the American people.”

“I am asking Congress to amend this bill and increase the ridiculously low $ 600 to $ 2,000,” he added.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, who had been pressing for similarly sized checks, welcomed Mr. Trump’s intervention.

“Republicans repeatedly refused to say what amount the President wanted for direct checks. At last, the President has agreed to $ 2,000 — Democrats are ready to bring this to the Floor this week by unanimous consent. Let’s do it!” she wrote on Twitter.

House Democrats planned to bring up the $ 2,000 payments for a vote by unanimous consent on Thursday, said an aide who was familiar with the proposal.

The president’s move surprised even senior administration officials on Tuesday night and represented an embarrassment for his top economic lieutenant, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who helped negotiate the agreement with Congress and applauded the passage of the bill on Tuesday.

Current and former administration officials speculated on Tuesday evening that Mr. Trump did not like the narrative that he had been sidelined from the negotiations and that calling for higher direct payments was a political move to please his base.