President Donald Trump wants Americans to receive $2,000 pandemic stimulus checks, a significantly higher number than the $600 direct payments that Republicans and Democrats agreed on in a massive coronavirus relief effort that passed Congress earlier this week.
But can he actually hold the joint $2.3 trillion government funding-relief bill hostage if lawmakers approved the legislation with overwhelming support from Republicans and Democrats?
What happened
In a series of videos the president posted to Twitter Tuesday evening, Trump said the $900 billon coronavirus relief effort was “much different than anticipated,” and he was disappointed in the size of $600 direct payment checks to be included in the bill.
“I’m asking Congress to amend this bill and increase the ridiculously low $600 to $2,000, or $4,000 for a couple,” Trump said. He then called on Congress to send him a “suitable bill, or else the next administration will have to deliver a Covid relief package.”
Trump’s demands Tuesday night “blinded all of Washington — including his own staff,” Politico reported. “Overnight and into Wednesday, senior Republicans, Hill aides and even White House officials scrambled to figure out what Trump actually wanted, just as lawmakers — and Trump — prepare to leave town for the holidays.”
Trump has a couple options to insist that $2,000 stimulus checks be included in the coronavirus relief legislation, but none of them seem likely to work without the support of congressional Republicans:
- Veto: Trump could veto the bill, but Congress appears poised with enough votes to override the president’s wishes. The House and the Senate would only need a two-thirds majority vote to override the president’s veto. The bill passed the House 359-53 and the Senate 92-6 this week
- Pocket veto: The president could choose to let the bill sit on his desk for 10 days, which would make the bill a law sans the president’s signature. But Congress would need to remain in session to ensure the legislation becomes law, or else the bill dies. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has already said the Senate will return to the Capitol Hill next week for the anticipated override vote, according to The Hill.
“It was not clear whether Trump would actually veto the package, but given how late it is in the 116th Congress, even refusing to sign it could ensure that the bill dies with the Congress on Jan. 3 and must be taken up again next year,” the Times reported late Wednesday.
Congress responds
Democratic lawmakers quickly agreed with president’s effort to send American’s more money.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., tweeted Tuesday night that “Democrats were ready to bring this to the Floor this week by unanimous consent. Let’s do it!”
On Wednesday, she encouraged the president to “sign the bill” and pressure McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., to agree to $2,000 direct payments.
“This can be done by noon on Christmas Eve!,” Pelosi added. She is expected to propose a standalone $2,000 stimulus check bill in the House this week.
“The House is set to convene on Christmas Eve in a so-called pro forma session, typically a brief meeting that requires one lawmaker be present and lasts for just a few minutes, and Democrats plan to bring up a standalone bill that would provide for $2,000 direct payments for American families,” The New York Times reported.
It would only take one member of the House to block the proposal and Democrats were still waiting to hear from McCarthy if any Republican lawmakers would oppose the legislation — and stand against Trump’s demands, according to the Times.
Emily Cochrane, who covers Congress for the Times, wrote it “is likely that at least one Republican will object to the request.”
A standalone bill is also unlikely to find traction in the Senate, where Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY., also sided with the president Tuesday night.
“I’m in. Whaddya say, Mitch (referring to McConnell)? Let’s not get bogged down with idealogical offsets and unrelated items and just DO THIS! The American people deserve it.,” Schumer said, while retweeting a message from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, another Democrat from New York.
Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri — who’d tried to pass legislation with Vermont independent Sen. Bernie Sanders to give Americans $1,200 direct payments — said the president was right.
“Workers deserve much more than $600, as I have repeatedly said & fought for,” Hawley said on Twitter Tuesday night, “and there’s obviously plenty of $$ to do it.”
“Let’s get is done,” the Missourian added.
Sanders echoed these sentiments on Twitter Wednesday, saying the ball was in the Senate Majority Leader’s court.
“Schumer, Pelosi and Trump all want us to pass a $2,000 direct payment for working-class Americans who are facing more economic desperation than at any time since the Great Depression. Leader McConnell, let the Senate vote!,” Sanders said.
As of Wednesday afternoon, McConnell had not commented on the president’s demand.
If the president doesn’t sign the bill by Monday, the government will shut down for the fourth time time during Trump’s presidency, Politico reported.