A bipartisan, two-thirds majority of the House of Representatives came together to pass the CASH Act on Monday evening. The bill would increase direct payments to Americans to $2,000.
The bill won bipartisan support in the lower chamber with 44 Republicans voting for the legislation. Two Democrats voted against the bill.
BREAKING: The House just passed #HR9051 – the Caring for Americans with Supplemental Help Act of 2020 – to increase direct payments in the COVID-19 relief legislation from $600 to $2,000.
— The Leadership Conference (@civilrightsorg) December 28, 2020
The vote was 275-134, with 44 Republicans voting YES. It is now up to the Senate to act. pic.twitter.com/BxO8NyWE5w
The bill now moves to the Senate, where Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is in a tight spot — President Donald Trump has said that he supports $2,000 stimulus payments but rank-and-file Republicans are not on the same page.
After President Trump voiced support for the $2,000 checks, House Democrats tried to change the $2.3 trillion coronavirus bill to include those payments. But that effort was blocked by House Republicans.
Cheering the passage of the bill on Monday evening, Democrats called on Sen. McConnell to take up the bill in the Senate.
House Oversight Chair Carolyn Maloney tweeted, “if [Donald Trump] really wants this, and wasn’t just seeking attention, he’ll make sure [McConnell and Senate Republicans] vote to pass it too.”
.@HouseDems just passed the Caring for Americans w/ Supplemental Help (CASH) Act of 2020 to increase stimulus payments from $600 to $2000.
— Carolyn B. Maloney (@RepMaloney) December 28, 2020
If @realDonaldTrump really wants this, & wasn’t just seeking attention, he’ll make sure @senatemajldr & @SenateGOP vote to pass it, too.
President Trump tried to fight against signing the $2.3 trillion bill but eventually signed it on Sunday night. He previously called the bill a “disgrace.”
When he signed the bill, Trump said that “the Senate will start the process for a vote that increases checks to $2,000.” But it remains unclear if McConnell will take any such vote.
The Senate leader congratulated Trump for signing the bill, saying “President Trump’s decision to get hundreds of billions of dollars of crucial COVID-19 relief out the door and into the hands of American families as quickly as possible.”
But the relationship between Trump and his party’s leader in the Senate has publicly deteriorated. McConnell is pushing his members not to challenge the results of the election. Trump wrote that he will “never forget” those Republicans who did not fight to help him overturn the election and took credit for McConnell’s recent victory.