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McConnell blocks $2,000 aid checks, but the fight s far from over
House Dems passed a bill to increase direct-aid payments to $2,000. Trump is on board. The final piece of the puzzle is the Republican-led Senate.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer before a memorial service for Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., at the U.S. Capitol on Oct. 24, 2019.Erin Schaff / AP file
Dec. 29, 2020, 8:35 PM UTC
BySteve Benen
House Democrats passed a bill yesterday to increase direct-aid payments to $2,000. Donald Trump has repeatedly endorsed the idea. The final piece of the puzzle is the Republican-led Senate, where the process got underway today with developments that proponents of the relief measure probably didn t like.
WASHINGTON
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday blocked Democrats’ push to immediately bring President Trump’s demand for bigger $2,000 COVID-19 relief checks up for a vote, saying the chamber would “begin a process” to address the issue.
Pressure is mounting on the Republican-led Senate to follow the House, which voted overwhelmingly on Monday to meet the president’s demand to increase the checks from $600 as the virus crisis worsens. A growing number of Republicans, including two senators in runoff elections on Jan. 5 in Georgia, have said they will support the larger amount. But most GOP senators oppose more spending, even if they are also wary of bucking Trump.
The U.S. Capitol is seen, Thursday, Dec. 24, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
WASHINGTON (AP) Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday blocked Democrats’ push to immediately bring President Donald Trump’s demand for bigger $2,000 COVID-19 relief checks up for a vote, saying the chamber would “begin a process” to address the issue.
Pressure is mounting on the Republican-led Senate to follow the House, which voted overwhelmingly on Monday to meet the president’s demand to increase the checks from $600 as the virus crisis worsens. A growing number of Republicans, including two senators in runoff elections on Jan. 5 in Georgia, have said they will support the larger amount. But most GOP senators oppose more spending, even if they are also wary of bucking Trump.