USA TODAY International Edition
GOP loyalty to Trump tested by House votes
$ 2,000 checks approved, unlikely to pass Senate
Republican members of Congress found themselves in uncomfortable positions Monday as they decided whether to oppose key demands from President Donald Trump on COVID- 19 relief checks and whether to override his veto of the annual national defense bill. But the bigger test comes next week, when Congress counts Electoral College votes.
WASHINGTON – House Republicans were thrust into an uncomfortable position Monday as lawmakers decided to oppose demands by President Donald Trump on significant policies long held by the party.
The House approved a bill that would give Americans weathering the coronavirus pandemic $ 2,000 checks, substantially boosting payments of $ 600 that are part of a relief package Trump signed into law late Sunday. The chamber also voted to override the president’s veto of the annual national defense bill. The vote was the first time the House has overridden one of Trump’s vetoes.
The votes Monday marked some of the last big tests for Republicans and the loyalty Trump demands. The position of House Republicans on both items largely differs from the president’s – a division in the party when Trump is counting on Republicans to help him in his battle over the results of the 2020 election.
Next week, Congress will meet in a joint session to formally count the votes of the Electoral College, a day that is likely to draw protests. Trump hopes
Republicans will object to certificates in some states.
The boost from the $ 600 checks was a direct demand from Trump, one of several policy items that led the president to heavily criticize the relief package – despite his own administration negotiating the legislation with Congress as part of a large government spending package. He called the legislation a “disgrace,” which came as a slap in the face to Republicans who voted on the measure after his administration gave it the green light.
Trump ended up signing the $ 900 billion COVID- 19 relief package, which was attached to a $ 1.4 trillion government spending bill, more than one day before the government was set to shut down. He warned that he would send the measure back with revisions, though House Democrats said they would not take up any of the president’s requests. The process, known as a rescission request, would temporarily freeze certain funds highlighted by the president for 45 days. If Congress did not take up the changes, the money would be released.
“As President, I have told Congress that I want far less wasteful spending and more money going to the American people in the form of $ 2,000 checks per adult and $ 600 per child,” Trump said in a statement Sunday. “I am signing this bill to restore unemployment benefits, stop evictions, provide rental assistance, add money for PPP ( personal protective equipment), return our airline workers back to work, add substantially more money for vaccine distribution, and much more.”
Republicans on Capitol Hill – caught between a vote to approve the aid measure they expected would be popular and a president who undermined the bill after it passed – breathed a sigh of relief.
“I am glad the American people will receive this much- needed assistance as our nation continues battling this pandemic,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R- Ky., said in a statement Sunday evening.
The relief package provides up to $ 600 in direct checks to millions of Americans and extends unemployment benefits, as well as a program intended to help small businesses retain their employees amid the pandemic. The bill was the fifth passed by Congress since the pandemic began nearly a year ago and the result of intense negotiations. Lawmakers and their staff worked on a compromise that drew criticism from the far right, who said it was too costly, and from the far left, who said it didn’t go far enough to help Americans.
The dispute between Trump and lawmakers came as the pandemic continues its winter march across the United States, dramatically increasing infections and deaths.
The House on Monday voted 275- 134 to increase the checks to $ 2,000. The measure is unlikely to see support with Republicans who control the Senate, despite Trump’s demands. For months, Republicans have voiced concerns over increased government spending, and a vote on the measure would force conservative lawmakers to either cave on their long- held objections or snub a key demand of the president in the last weeks of his tenure.
Republicans were similarly in a tight spot on another measure Monday as they considered overriding the president’s veto of the annual national defense bill. The House vote was a remarkable bipartisan condemnation of the president in the final days of his term.
The bill, a $ 741 billion national security package, will raise troops’ pay, direct the purchase of weapons and set military policies. The president opposed the measure largely over two key provisions: an inclusion that would rename certain military bases that honor Confederate military leaders and Congress’ refusal to include language that would strip social media companies from the protections they enjoy under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.
The bill had passed the House and Senate with overwhelming support.