Stimulus Check Update: One Democrat Tight-Lipped About Support For $2K Relief Check In Third Round

Although the Democrats will control in the near future, West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin is unsure about passing a second stimulus check for $2,000.

In a conversation with CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday, Manchin, a centrist Democrat who often votes with Republicans, wouldn’t give a direct answer when asked whether he believes the bill will be passed.

“That’s not a yes or no question,” Manchin said on “State of the Union.”

“Sending checks to people that basically already have a check and aren't going to be able to spend that or are not going to spend it, usually are putting it in their savings account right now -- that’s not who we are.”

Manchin added, “We have done an awful lot of that, it's time now to target where the money goes.”

Instead, he suggested only people in need should receive the check. “I am on board by helping people that need help, people that really can’t make it, people who don’t have a job, they can’t put food on their table. I am in total support of helping them,” Manchin said.

On Friday, Manchin told the Washington Post that passing the second stimulus check was not on his list of priorities.

“Getting people vaccinated, that’s job No. 1. How is the money that we invest now going to help us best to get jobs back and get people employed? And I can’t tell you that sending another check out is gonna do that to a person that’s already got a check,” he said.

Also on Friday, President-elect Joe Biden told reporters that he wanted the $2,000 checks to go out “immediately” once he is in office.

“We need to provide more immediate relief for families and businesses now,” he said. “People are really, really, really in desperate shape.”

However, it remains unclear whether Biden is planning for a $2,000 check or a $1,400 check in addition to the recent $600 stimulus check that is being sent to Americans.