The fate of the new COVID-19 relief package in America has been thrown into doubt after President Donald Trump criticized the $2.3-trillion U.S. bill as a "disgrace" and demanded larger stimulus payments for individuals.
Trump slammed the historic coronavirus aid for millions of Americans less than 24 hours after Congress approved the legislation with overwhelmingly Democrat and Republican bipartisan votes. Trump called for eliminating "wasteful and unnecessary items" from the legislation but he didn’t say whether he would veto it.
Trump’s last-minute demands sent shockwaves through Washington, D.C. In addition to $900 billion U.S. in pandemic-related measures, the package includes $1.4 trillion U.S. to fund government operations through next September. If the president doesn’t sign the legislation by December 28, government funding would lapse after midnight that day, triggering a partial shutdown.
The angst might run deepest among the president’s fellow Republicans, who preferred a smaller pandemic relief package closer to $500 billion U.S. They agreed to a $900-billion U.S. effort in the end, pressured by the political costs of holding up the relief package just weeks before a crucial runoff election for Georgia’s two Senate seats, which will determine control of that chamber of government.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi quickly seized on Trump’s call for $2,000 in individual stimulus payments -- well above the $600 U.S. included in the relief bill -- and said Congress would try to pass this additional measure during a pro forma session on Thursday, a move that could be blocked by a single member of Congress.
That bill would be a standalone measure to strike all references of $600 U.S. in the current legislation, to be replaced with $2,000 U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he was on board and challenged Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to agree.
Increasing the payment amounts to $2,000 U.S. would increase the cost of this provision to more than $500 billion U.S., a significant increase from the more than $160 billion U.S. the Joint Committee on Taxation projects the current $600 U.S. payments to most Americans will cost.
The COVID-19 relief deal took more than six months to negotiate and was only sealed after a frantic weekend of negotiations between congressional leaders staring down the end of this Congress. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, one of Trump’s top allies, urged him to sign the existing bill to get relief to struggling businesses and families across the U.S.
