WASHINGTON (AP) – House Republicans on Thursday rejected a Democratic bid to approve President Donald Trump’s long-running demand at the end of the $ 2,000 session of direct payments to most Americans as they consider whether to sign a bill of COVID-19 relief law, which was long overdue.
The shock directed at television came when the Democratic-controlled chamber convened a pro forma session scheduled in anticipation of Trump signing the massive year-end legislative package, which adds up to a $ 1.4 trillion government with them fought the COVID-19 package and dozens of unrelated but bipartisan accounts.
Instead, Thursday’s 12-minute House session turned into an unconvincing theater in response to reflections on Trump’s veto on the package, which was negotiated by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on behalf of Trump. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, the House’s No. 2 Democrat, called for the unanimous approval of all members of the House to pass the larger controls, but Republican Party leader Kevin McCarthy, who he was not present in the almost empty chamber, he refused approval.
If Trump followed his implied veto threat, delivered via a video clip on Tuesday, the government would likely experience a brief, partial shutdown of the government beginning Dec. 29. It would also delay the delivery of the $ 600 direct payments that the bill contains to help and other aid for the unemployed and people on eviction.
The push for larger payments has created a rare common cause between Trump and some of the more liberal members of Congress. House Speaker Pelosi, D-California, said they struggled to get the highest subsidies during protracted negotiations only to set the lower number when Republicans refused. Democrats plan to hold a roll-call vote on the $ 2,000 check proposal Monday when members of the House return to Washington.
Senate Republicans, led by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, have opposed checks larger than $ 2,000 because they are too costly and poorly targeted.
The way forward, including efforts to avoid a closure or perhaps even pass a last-ditch extension of jobless controls that will soon expire, was still unclear. Any stop would probably be brief, but nothing is certain.
“We will not let the government shut down, nor will we let the American people down,” Hoyer said. “There are ongoing discussions between the speaker and the Secretary of the Treasury and the administration.”
The outlook looks terrible to Republicans, who had praised the tough COVID-19 relief package, which passed Monday with wide votes after the White House assured Republican Party leaders that Trump supported the bill. He has also created more Trump-related headaches for the sensibilities of Georgia’s Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, who are fighting for their political lives and for continued control of the Senate by the Jan. 5 election in Georgia.
“The best way out of that is for the president to sign the bill,” Republican Sen. Roy Blunt said Thursday. “And I still hope that’s what he decides.”
But instead of winning the broad aid package, among the most important in history, Trump is attacking Republican Party leaders for the presidential election, for recognizing Joe Biden as president-elect and rejecting his campaign to contest the results of the Electoral College. they are accounted for in Congress on January 6th.
“It’s Christmas Eve, but it’s not a quiet night. Everything is not quiet. For many, nothing is brilliant. And for too many people, they don’t sleep peacefully, “said Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich.” I did a town hall last night that had people crying, people terrified of what was going to happen. “
The president’s push to increase direct payments for most Americans from $ 600 to $ 2,000 for individuals and $ 4,000 for couples divides the party with a politically painful test of allegiance.
Republican lawmakers have traditionally dismissed big spending and many never fully accepted Trump’s populist approach. Their political DNA tells them to oppose a more expensive relief package. But now they are being asked to run for president.
In a conference call, Republican lawmakers in the House denounced Trump throwing them under the bus, according to a Republican in the private call, and granted anonymity to discuss it. The majority had voted for the package and urged leaders to participate in cable news programs to explain its benefits, the person said.
Democrats took advantage of Republican disorder to press for a priority. Jon Ossoff, Perdue’s Democratic opponent, tweeted simply Tuesday night, “Now $ 2,000 checks.”
The relief bill Trump criticizes would set an additional temporary $ 300-a-week unemployment benefit, along with a new round of subsidies for affected businesses, restaurants and theaters and money for schools, health care providers and tenants facing eviction.
Although Mnuchin represented the White House in the negotiations, Trump attacked the bipartisan effort in a video he posted in a tweet Tuesday night, suggesting he might not sign the legislation.
Trump, considering the diversity of provisions in the broader government funding package, including the basic pillars of foreign aid included each year, Trump called the bill a “disgrace.”
Trump did not specifically promise to use his veto power, and there may be enough support in Congress to overturn it if he does. But the consequences would be serious if Trump revalued the legislation. It would mean no federal aid for Americans and troubled small businesses, and there would be no additional resources to help distribute the vaccines. To top it off, because lawmakers linked the pandemic relief bill to a global funding measure, the government would close on December 29th.
The final text of the more than 5,000-page bill was still being prepared by Congress and was not expected to be sent to the White House for Trump’s signature before Thursday or Friday, an aide said.
This complicates the schedule ahead. If Trump vetoes the package or allows it to expire with a “pocket veto” by the end of the year, Americans will run out of massive amounts of COVID aid.
A resolution could be forced on Monday. It was then that Congress passed an uninterrupted funding bill to keep the government funded while the proceedings were being compiled, and there is a risk of a federal closure.
The House is already scheduled to return on Monday and the Senate on Tuesday, for a vote to overturn Trump’s veto on the mandatory defense bill. Democrats announced they will force a roll-call vote to approve Trump’s $ 2,000 check proposal, as well as a temporary government funding measure to prevent a shutdown, Hoyer said Thursday.
The Senate approved the huge relief package by a 92-6 vote after the House approved it by 359-53. These vote totals would be enough to overturn a veto should Trump decide to take that step.
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