- President Donald Trump left Washington on Wednesday to spend his vacation at his private Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
- House Democrats, meanwhile, will try to pass a measure on Thursday that provides $ 2,000 stimulus checks as part of the COVID-19 aid package.
- Earlier this week, Trump called on Congress to increase the size of stimulus payments from the $ 600 included in the package he was expected to sign.
- If Trump does not sign that stimulus package within the next five days, he will have effectively vetoed it and thrown the measure back to Congress.
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President Donald Trump left DC on Wednesday to spend his vacation at his private Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, a day before Congress is ready to consider $ 2,000 stimulus checks as part of the COVID-19 aid package.
On Tuesday night, Trump sent Washington into madness as he based the bipartisan stimulus measure that Congress had just passed. On Wednesday afternoon, the lame duck president vetoed the defense spending proposal that had passed both chambers with overwhelming support.
It is unclear when Trump will return to Washington. As USA Today noted, a warning from the Federal Aviation Administration indicates that he is expected to leave Palm Beach at 6 p.m. 18.45 on 1 January. If he stays that long, the already passed stimulation package of 900 billion. Dollar is automatically vetoed as a result of not signing it.
A White House spokesman did not respond to a request for comment on whether the president intends to veto the current stimulus package.
The White House press office, however, insisted the president would stay busy speaking out a declaration that his schedule “includes many meetings and calls.”
Meanwhile, Democrats are ready to bring Trump’s stated desire for greater stimulus controls to the floor of the House on Thursday. According to Washington Post’s Jeff Stein, Democrats will seek to approve $ 2,000 payments – up from $ 600 in the existing stimulus package – by unanimity, meaning it would pass that every single member of Congress can not object.
If this effort fails, Democrats will vote on the stand-alone legislation on Monday, December 28, Norway Post reported.
The effort comes after Trump in particular said the package, which he had expected to sign, did not provide large enough stimulus controls.
Democrats were the ones who first proposed $ 2,000 direct payments. Elected Vice President Kamala Harris proposed legislation in the Senate that should provide control every month until the pandemic is over. In the House, both centrist and Liberal Democrats supported an accompanying measure, but the stimulus packed as the chamber passed in May included only a $ 1,200 one-time check.
Republicans, led by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, have tried to limit the size of direct payments to Americans and must now decide whether to oppose Trump or hollow and save face politically.
Most Americans say the $ 600 checks were not enough. According to the latest poll by Insider and SurveyMonkey, 76% of respondents said the payment should be $ 1,000 or more, and 43% said it should be $ 2,000 or more.
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