Trump Demands More Stimulus, Throwing Relief Bill Into Doubt

After Congress finally managed to negotiate a bipartisan coronavirus relief deal after months of arguments and it passed both houses of Congress by overwhelming veto-proof majorities, President Trump is now throwing doubt as to whether or not the bill can be passed by demanding that the bill include more money than the proposed $600 stimulus checks and to cut back the non-coronavirus related spending (the bill is tied to an omnibus government funding package, which means it has lots of unrelated provisions).

The $900 billion relief package was tied to an omnibus $1.4 trillion federal government spending budget to last through to the end of this fiscal year. Therefore, this bill is very important: if it doesn’t pass by Monday, the federal government will run out of money and the government will shut down. The 5,600-page bill contains, in addition to COVID-19 relief, measures to end surprise medical bills, creating two new Smithsonian Institute museums dedicated to Latinos and women, and other bipartisan provisions.

The relief bill, though less-than-stellar in its current form, is significantly better than nothing to the millions of Americans struggling to put food on the table and hundreds of thousands of failing small businesses. Though far from ideal, the bill will give people more unemployment money, $600 stimulus checks, billions in funding to the Paycheck Protection Program, moratoriums on evictions, and other measures that will provide a lifeline to those people most in need.

And although larger stimulus checks would be great, there is every urgency to pass this package as soon as possible. Not only will vaccine distribution be affected and thousands of Americans left without money should this bill not pass, it could also cause a federal government shutdown unless a stopgap is passed by Congress before next Monday.

In a video shared on Twitter, President Trump has called the relief bill a “disgrace” and portrayed the non-COVID related spending as “wasteful and unnecessary” additions. He also demanded that Congress provide larger stimulus checks to Americans.

Statement by Donald J. Trump, The President of the United States

Full Video: https://t.co/avKfYctPAD pic.twitter.com/i8IMLhH53Q

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 23, 2020

Though members from both parties had recognized the need to pass this bill, it didn’t happen without a lot of criticism from both parties. The rushed passage of the bill, for instance, drew criticisms from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who come from virtually opposing ends of the political spectrum. Ocasio-Cortez called the rushed vote on many unread measures (the bill was only released to members of Congress shortly before the vote) as “hostage-taking” and Cruz called the bill “ABSURD.”

Trump’s comment for more stimulus, though, was embraced by many Democrats. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said that “Democrats are ready to bring [the $2,000 stimulus check provision] to the floor this week by unanimous consent,” and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said that he was “glad to pass more aid Americans need,” but stressed the importance for Trump to pass this bill first.

Many Democrats, including many from the Progressive Caucus, had previously pushed for larger, more regular stimulus checks, so they quickly embraced the president’s message that more stimulus was needed. However, many also did agree that this bill needed to be passed.

It is unlikely, though, that the Democratic-led initiative to pass an amendment to the relief bill to include $2,000 stimulus checks will pass, though. A quick vote requires unanimous consent, something that probably won’t happen. And for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to hold a vote on that is also quite unlikely, too.

The hope on Capitol Hill is now for Trump to not veto the bill. Since the bill passed overwhelmingly with veto-proof majorities, it is unlikely that the president’s demands will alter the bill, no matter how good it may sound to some congresspeople.