Trump refuses to budge on aid bill, jeopardizing unemployment benefits for millions



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But he has since complained that the bill gives too much money to special interests, cultural projects and foreign aid, while the provision of $ 600 stimulus checks to millions of struggling Americans was too small. He has demanded that it be increased to $ 2,000.

“I just want our great people to get $ 2000, instead of the measly $ 600 that is now on the bill,” the president tweeted on Saturday.

His refusal to sign drew a sharp rebuke from Biden, who called on the outgoing Republican president to act immediately.

“This abdication of responsibility has devastating consequences. … This bill is fundamental. It should become law now, ”Biden, who is vacationing in his home state of Delaware, said in a statement. The president-elect was scheduled to meet with his transition advisers on Sunday.

Americans are going through an unprecedented Christmas season amid a pandemic that has killed nearly 330,000 people in the U.S., with a daily death toll now repeatedly exceeding 3,000, the highest since it began. the pandemic.

Many economists agree that aid from the bill is too low, but say immediate support is still urgently needed.

‘EXTRAORDINARILY HARD’

A source familiar with the situation said Trump’s objection to the bill caught many White House officials by surprise. His criticism of the bill in tweets dashed hopes that he would sign it over the weekend.

Trump spent much of Thursday and Christmas Day playing golf at his club in West Palm Beach, Florida. The bill was sent to Mar-a-Lago, his Florida residence, where Trump spent Saturday with members of his family, including senior advisers Jared Kushner, his son-in-law and daughter Ivanka Trump.

According to his daily schedule, Trump was involved in “many meetings and calls,” although the White House did not provide details. I had no events scheduled for Sunday

The president also found time to reiterate in several tweets his unfounded claim of electoral fraud and accuse his fellow Republicans of abandoning him in his attempt to annul the election result, already shot down several times by US courts. He has yet to acknowledge Biden’s victory on November 3.

“It is time for Republican senators to step up and fight for the presidency,” he tweeted Saturday night.

Trump also appeared to be in an isolated position on the aid bill, with few Republican lawmakers voicing support for his position. The White House had no updates on whether Trump would sign the bill on Monday, an official said.

Arkansas Rep. French Hill, a Republican serving on the House Financial Services Committee, told Fox on Saturday that he hoped Trump would sign the bill immediately because it would provide immediate relief to Americans. “I wish I had made that $ 2,000 pitch as loudly over the past three weeks as after the bill was passed. It could have given us more leverage to get a little higher pay, “Hill said. At this point, he added, “it is going to be extraordinarily difficult to get that payment through the Senate and the House.”

The United States Congress, which is normally suspended in the last week of December, prepares to return to work. The Democrat-controlled House plans to vote on legislation providing one-time checks of $ 2,000 to individuals.

Trump last week vetoed a $ 740 billion bill authorizing the nation’s defense programs. On Monday, the House is scheduled to vote on overriding Trump’s veto. If the House vote is successful, the Senate could hold its vote on Tuesday. Both houses passed the defense spending bill with margins well above the two-thirds majority needed to override a veto.



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