$2000 Stimulus Checks Dead After Republicans Block Trump/Democrat Team Up

Republican leadership in the House blocked a proposal from President Trump to upgrade the value of stimulus checks from $600 to $2,000. It now falls to Trump to decide whether he will assent to the original bill or veto it, bouncing it back to Congress for revisions.

The hard-fought omnibus budget bill squeaked in right before the deadline of a government shutdown. Unless a package is signed into law before midnight Monday, federal services will vanish. Special COVID-19 measures like eviction protections and unemployment benefits are set to expire right after Christmas.

“Today, on Christmas Eve morning, House Republicans cruelly deprived the American people of the $2,000 that the President agreed to support," Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said. “If the President is serious about the $2,000 direct payments, he must call on House Republicans to end their obstruction.”

Trump had latched onto larger checks after public outcry when it was announced the bill would contain checks of only $600 after months of deliberations. Democrats, who had been forced to give up larger payments early on in negotiations, threw their weight behind him.

Democrats had also, however, blocked a Trump-backed proposal to revisit the foreign aid section of the year’s budget. Their opponents derided it was “selective hearing.”

Several sources within the White House told the Washington Post that Trump was yet to decide one way or the other, characterizing the odds as about 50/50. House Democrats are planning to try again to increase the checks on Monday.