GOP Blocks $2,000 Relief Checks Sought by Trump

By Yuval Rosenberg

House GOP Blocks $2,000 Relief Checks Sought by Trump, Leaving
Covid Bill in Limbo

In a final bit of pre-Christmas political theater, House
Republicans on Thursday blocked an attempt by Democrats to approve
the $2,000 stimulus payments President Trump demanded this
week.

After Trump on Tuesday abruptly cast doubt over a compromise
Covid relief package negotiated by Congress, including $600
payments for millions of Americans, Democrats tried to advance
legislation to more than triple those payments. But Republicans
rejected the move to pass the change by unanimous consent.

They countered with their own attempt to force changes to
foreign aid spending, another part of the year-end package that
Trump had criticized even though many of the programs he
highlighted were also
in his own budget request. That GOP move was
blocked by Democrats. House rules meant that each unanimous consent
request could not be considered without the approval of the floor
and committee leaderships of the other party.

The spending Trump had highlighted as “wasteful and unnecessary”
reportedly amounts to $3.8
billion, while raising the direct payments from $600 to
$2,000 would cost about $370 billion.

“The Democratic gambit on the House floor was never meant to
pass, but Democratic leaders had hoped to put Republicans in a bind
— forcing them to choose between the president’s wishes for far
more largess and their own inclinations for modest relief — while
possibly flushing the president out on his intentions,” The New
York Times
reports. The show was all over in less than two
minutes, and the House then adjourned until Monday.

Pelosi sets new vote for Monday: House Speaker Nancy
Pelosi (D-CA) said Democrats will try to pass the $2,000 payments
again on Monday with a
new stand-alone bill that will be put to a full
vote on the House floor. “Hopefully by then the President will have
already signed the bipartisan and bicameral legislation to keep
government open and to deliver coronavirus relief,” she said in a
statement.

Relief bill iIn limbo: It’s not at all clear what Trump
will do on the $900 billion Covid relief package and a related $1.4
trillion spending bill needed to keep the government open beyond
the beginning of next week. “Mr. Trump decamped for his Florida
home in Mar-a-Lago on Wednesday without saying another word on the
matter,” The Times notes, “leaving both parties to guess whether he
really intends to veto the long-delayed measure, which includes the
coronavirus relief as well as funding to keep the government funded
past Monday.”

The legislation is reportedly being sent
to Florida, where Trump was
seen golfing on Thursday.

Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) told reporters that there wouldn’t be
enough votes in the Senate to pass the $2,000 payments and urged
Trump to approve the deal passed by Congress. “I hope the president
looks at this again and reaches that conclusion that the best thing
to do is to sign the bill,” he said. Blunt also said that reopening
the spending bill to reconsider the foreign aid provisions would be
a mistake, indicating a potential split within the Republican Party
on the issue.

If Trump doesn’t sign off on the legislation, the House could
still attempt to pass another stopgap funding measure on Monday to
prevent a partial shutdown. But that wouldn’t provide any relief to
the roughly 12 million Americans who are set to see their expanded
federal unemployment benefits end on Saturday. Other relief
provisions provided as part of the $2.2 trillion CARES Act passed
in March — including an eviction moratorium reportedly protecting
as many as 30 million Americans — are scheduled to expire at the
end of the month.

“Republicans in Congress and the White House can’t agree
on what they want,” Hoyer told reporters Thursday, according to

Bloomberg News. “Surely, the president of the
United States, whether he is in Mar-a-Lago or someplace else, ought
to empathize with the suffering and apprehension and deep angst
people are feeling this Christmas Eve.”

The Night Before Christmas 2020

‘Twas the night before Christmas, and up on the
Hill
Congress keeps fighting over its stimulus bill.
Pelosi pressed Republicans to see if they dare
Block the bigger checks Trump said are fair.
Sure enough, Republicans denied their consent.
Then off to their homes our lawmakers went.
Bye, Mitch! Bye, Kevin! Bye, Nancy! Bye, Chuck!
And Trump showed no signs of giving a f—-.
He left for Florida early last night
To pardon more pals while he still has that
right.
So it’s no Merry Christmas for all, not tonight.
Because the president and Congress won’t end this
fight.
They all say they want the economy to grow faster
But right now it feels like we’re headed for
disaster.

Merry Christmas! Send your feedback
to yrosenberg@thefiscaltimes.com.
Follow us on Twitter:
@yuvalrosenberg,
@mdrainey and
@TheFiscalTimes. And please tell your
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