President Donald Trump is warning Republicans if they do not pass $2,000 direct payments, they will fail to provide Americans with what they need.
“Unless Republicans have a death wish, and it is also the right thing to do, they must approve the $2000 payments ASAP. $600 IS NOT ENOUGH!” Trump wrote on Twitter on Tuesday.
He added, “Also, get rid of Section 230 – Don’t let Big Tech steal our Country, and don’t let the Democrats steal the Presidential Election. Get tough!”
Unless Republicans have a death wish, and it is also the right thing to do, they must approve the $2000 payments ASAP. $600 IS NOT ENOUGH! Also, get rid of Section 230 – Don’t let Big Tech steal our Country, and don’t let the Democrats steal the Presidential Election. Get tough! https://t.co/GMotstu7OI
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 29, 2020
On Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) blocked a vote to pass a measure to increase direct payments to $2,000, as IJR previously reported.
Trump originally indicated he would not sign the $2.3 trillion package and called on Congress to “increase the ridiculously low $600 to $2,000 or $4,000 for a couple.”
He changed course on Sunday and signed the bill into law, as IJR previously reported.
Some Republicans have expressed strong opposition to the increase. Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) voiced his concern with the price tag of the stimulus checks.
“Someone’s gotta show me how we’re going to pay for it. I mean how far before we ultimately go into a debilitating insolvency and bankruptcy that’s going to do great damage to our country and do more damage, in fact, than COVID-19 ever could have done,” Brooks said during a Fox News interview.
He added, “I don’t think people understand what happens when a central government goes bankrupt, but it’s not pretty. It’s dangerous.”
Brooks went on to argue, “We don’t have enough Congressmen and senators with the courage to say no or to be financially responsible.”
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) presented the opposite argument.
“A lot of Republicans are saying they object to the payments because it costs too much and is going to add too much to the deficit. Well frankly, spare me the fake righteous indignation about the deficit all of a sudden,” Murphy said on the Senate floor on Tuesday.
He continued, “Three years ago, these same deficit hawk Republicans passed a tax cut bill that before the pandemic hit had already added over $200 billion to the annual deficit.”