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PALM BEACH (AP) – After throwing a grenade that threatens to blow up massive COVID relief and a government funding bill and force a government shutdown amid a pandemic, President Donald Trump was playing golf in Christmas for the second day in a row.
Failure to agree on the bill could deny checks to millions of Americans on the brink.
Trump had no events on his public schedule on the first day of his winter break Thursday, but he traveled to his Palm Beach golf club, where he was spotted on the links by CNN cameras. Reporters were not given details of his schedule for the day, but said that, “As the holiday season approaches, President Trump will continue to work tirelessly for the American people. His schedule includes a lot of meetings and calls. “
Trump’s exit came as Washington was still reeling from his surprise, the last-minute demand that a year-end spending bill that congressional leaders spent months negotiating give most Americans $ 2,000 in COVID relief checks, far more than the $ 600 members of your own party. I agree. The idea was quickly rejected by House Republicans during a rare Christmas Eve session, leaving the proposal in limbo.
The bipartisan compromise was seen as a closed deal and garnered broad approval in the House and Senate this week after the White House assured Republican leaders that Trump supported it. If Trump refuses to sign the agreement, which is attached to a $ 1.4 trillion government funding bill, it will force the shutdown of the federal government, as well as delay aid controls and halt unemployment benefits and eviction protections amid the most dire stretch of the pandemic.
It was an apparent act of antagonism toward Congressional Republicans by a president who has been furious over his November 3 loss to President-elect Joe Biden and trying to come up with new and increasingly outrageous plans to try to overturn the results. of a Democratic election. . He’s been goaded on by allies like his attorney, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who accompanied the president to Florida aboard Air Force One.
Trump’s ire has been focused, in part, on Republicans in Congress, who he believes have not been sufficiently supportive of his quest to delegitimize Biden’s victory by launching unsubstantiated claims of massive voter fraud before Congress meets to count. Electoral College votes on January 6.
In Florida, Trump continued to criticize the results, complaining to members that his election had been stolen and expressing his frustrations over the year-end spending bill.
“At a meeting in Florida today, everyone was asking why Republicans are not up in arms and fighting over the fact that Democrats stole the rigged presidential election.” Trump tweeted after returning to his private Mar-a-Lago club. “Especially in the Senate, they said, where you helped 8 senators win their races.”
“I will never forget!” wrote in another,
The remarks underscored concerns that Trump is blowing up negotiations to punish lawmakers for what he sees as insufficiently supportive loyalty.
Trump has not provided credible evidence to back up his election claims, which have also been refuted by a long list of officials, from former Attorney General William Barr to Republican governors, judges and local election administrators.
Meanwhile, the nation continues to reel as the coronavirus spreads, with a record number of infections and hospitalizations and more than 327,000 deaths. And millions are now faced with the prospect of vacationing alone or struggling to make ends meet without adequate income, food or shelter thanks to the economic cost of the pandemic.
To mark the holiday, the President and First Lady Melania Trump tweeted a prerecorded video message wishing Americans a Merry Christmas and thanking first responders and members of the military.
“As you know, this Christmas is different from years past,” said Ms Trump, who focused on the acts of “kindness and courage” that the pandemic had inspired.
Trump praised the doses of vaccine that are being delivered and thanked those responsible. “It is a true Christmas miracle,” he said.
Meanwhile, Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin have been trying to save year-end legislation to try to avoid a shutdown. Democrats will call House lawmakers to Washington to vote Monday on Trump’s $ 2,000 proposal, though he would likely die in the Republican-controlled Senate. They are also considering a vote Monday on an interim measure to at least avoid a federal shutdown and keep the government running until Biden takes office on January 20.
In addition to the aid checks, the COVID bill that passed would establish a temporary supplemental unemployment benefit of $ 300 per week, provide a new round of subsidies for the hardest hit businesses, restaurants and theaters, and money for schools, and it would provide money for health care providers. and assist with the distribution of the COVID vaccine.
Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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