Look at McConnell as he opens the Senate floor. The majority leader, in particular, has made no public commitment on how he plans to handle $ 2,000 checks, although Trump insisted he had gotten the promise that the process would begin in the U.S. Senate. Statements in McConnell’s remarks Tuesday could clarify which direction Republicans are going in the Senate.
Bottom line: If McConnell announces plans to introduce the bill for a formal vote, it could still take a few days for the votes to take place given the procedural hurdles.
Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer will ask for unanimous consent Tuesday to pass the measure that increases direct payments to $ 2,000. This is unlikely to happen, as any senator could oppose (Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin opposed more money to do stimulus checks a few days ago).
The dynamics
McConnell knows that adding $ 2,000 to this bill would cost hundreds of millions of dollars more. For that to happen, McConnell would need 12 Republicans to sign up and right now, it’s not clear that there are many. Senator Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican, has said he would return the payments. And Sen. Josh Hawley, a Republican from Missouri, has been a staunch supporter of stimulus controls. But a vote on the issue would no doubt split the Republican conference and force Georgia Sens, Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue to vote hard just days before their second election. It would also expose members who voted no to the wrath of a president who has never had the kindness to cross himself.
That’s not to say McConnell isn’t going in that direction. A check for $ 2,000 checks could also increase Perdue and Loeffler in their careers if they voted. The provision is popular. And even if the measure didn’t pass, putting it on the ground would prove to the president that McConnell was trying, but the votes just weren’t there. McConnell, as usual, has been seeking input from its members.
It’s also possible, and some Democratic aides CNN has spoken to fear McConnell could tie a vote on $ 2,000 checks to a less popular provision that would make it harder for Democrats to vote. Remember, Trump argued that he had obtained assurances that the Senate would also resume repealing Article 230, which protects web companies from liability for what third-party users post on their sites. That would affect party lines and make voting for the $ 2,000 checks much harder for Democrats to swallow.
NDAA
McConnell was hoping to raise the NDAA replacement vote Wednesday. But Vermont Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders has said he will block the measure unless McConnell provides $ 2,000 checks.
Again, we still don’t know what McConnell’s plans are for the checks, but if he doesn’t make a promise to take them to the apartment, Sanders could force McConnell to run out of clock until New Year’s Day on the ballot. by annulment of the NDAA veto. Sources expect there will be votes to overturn the NDAA in the Senate. It’s just a matter of when. A delay could keep Loeffler and Perdue off the campaign track a few days before their qualifiers.