Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is pouring cold water on the idea of the Senate passing a stand-alone bill to send Americans $2,000 stimulus checks as Congressional Democrats are ramping up pressure for their Republican colleagues to do so.
President Donald Trump has taken to Twitter to pressure the Republican-controlled Senate to increase the amount of the stimulus checks to help Americans suffering financially due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, during a speech on the Senate floor on Wednesday, McConnell claimed a Democrat-crafted stand-alone bill to increase stimulus checks from $600 to $2,000 “does not align” with what Trump has called for and “has no realistic path to quickly pass the Senate.”
He went on to note that Trump recently signed the second-largest relief bill in American history — despite his displeasure with the size of the $600 stimulus checks in it.
“To ensure the president was comfortable signing the bill into law, the Senate committed to beginning one process that would combine three of the president’s priorities: Larger direct checks, a repeal of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, and further efforts to review the integrity of our democracy.”
On Tuesday, McConnell blocked an attempt to increase the stimulus checks and introduced his own legislation that linked the checks to Trump’s priorities of election integrity and legal protections for social media companies.
The move to combine all three of Trump’s priorities into one bill has been seen as an attempt to kill the push for $2,000 checks.
Watch the video below:
JUST IN: Sen. Mitch McConnell signals Senate will not take up #CASHAct: "The Senate is not going to be bullied into rushing out more borrowed money into the hands of Democrat rich friends who don't need the help." pic.twitter.com/MIjX0mzexe
— The Hill (@thehill) December 30, 2020
Additionally, he claimed Congressional Democrats were “trying to pull a fast one on President Trump and the American people” by passing a bill that does not include provisions to address the president’s other priorities.
He slammed the stand-alone bill as he argued it would further increase the national debt while sending aid to individuals and families who have not seen a change to their financial situation due to the pandemic.
Finally, McConnell said, “The Senate is not going to split apart the three issues that President Trump linked together just because Democrats are afraid to address of two of them. The Senate is not going to be bullied into rushing out more borrowed money into the hands of Democrat rich friends who don’t need the help.”
“We just approved almost a trillion dollars in aid a few days ago. It struck a balance between broad support for all kinds of households. And a lot more targeted relief for those who need help the most. We’re going to stay smart. We’re going to stay focused. And we’re going to continue delivering on the needs for our nation,” he added.
Earlier on Wednesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) urged McConnell to hold a vote on the stand-alone bill to increase the stimulus checks to $2,000.
Trump claimed Republican senators would have a “death wish” if they do not quickly pass a bill to give Americans the increased stimulus checks.