US$2,000 relief checks' fate rests with US Senate

Reuters

United States President Donald Trump’s push for US$2,000 COVID-19 relief checks now rests with the Senate after the House voted overwhelmingly to meet the president’s demand to increase the US$600 stipends, but Republicans have shown little interest in boosting spending.

The outcome is highly uncertain. Democrats, sharing a rare priority with Trump, have seized on the opportunity to force Republicans into a difficult vote of either backing or defying the outgoing president.

After bipartisan approval by the House, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer warned: “There is no good reason for Senate Republicans to stand in the way.”

“There’s strong support for these US$2,000 emergency checks from every corner of the country,” Schumer said in a statement late on Monday.

He called on Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell to make sure the Senate helps “meet the needs of American workers and families who are crying out for help.”

The House tally was a stunning turn of events.

Just days ago Republicans blocked Trump’s sudden demands for bigger checks during a brief Christmas Eve session as he defiantly refused to sign the broader COVID-19 aid and year-end funding bill into law.

As Trump spent days fuming from his private club in Florida where he is spending the holidays, dozens of Republicans calculated it was better to link with Democrats to increase the pandemic stipend rather than buck the outgoing president and constituents counting on the money.

Democrats led passage, 275-134, but 44 Republicans joined almost all Democrats in approval.

Senators were set to return to the session yesterday amid similar, stark GOP divisions between those who align with Trump’s populist instincts and others who adhere to what had been more traditional conservative views against government spending.

Congress had settled on smaller US$600 payments in a compromise over the big year-end relief bill Trump reluctantly signed into law.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi declared: “Republicans have a choice: Vote for this legislation or vote to deny the American people the bigger paychecks they need.”

Biden accuses Pentagon appointees of stalling transition

US President-elect Joe Biden said on Monday that Trump’s appointees at the Pentagon were stalling on the transition and warned that the United States faces security risks as a result.

After he and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris were briefed by their transition teams on national security, Biden said that political appointees at the Pentagon as well as the Office of Management and Budget had put up “roadblocks.”

“Right now, we just aren’t getting all the information that we need from the outgoing administration in key national security area(s),” Biden said after the briefing.

Biden said he was seeking a “clear picture” from the outgoing administration on US troop positioning around the world.