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WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump delivered a year-end video message Thursday (Dec. 31) after returning early from the holidays, highlighting his administration’s work to rapidly develop a COVID-19 vaccine and rebuild the economy. .
As the end of his presidency approached, Trump interrupted his stay at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida and returned to the White House a day ahead of schedule.
Upon his return, Trump released a video message on Twitter to underscore his administration’s work on the vaccine, economic stimulus controls and America’s “courage, strength and tenacity” in the face of challenges.
He called the vaccine, which is rolling out across the country, a “truly unprecedented medical miracle” and said it would be available to all Americans early next year. “We have to be remembered for what has been done,” Trump said in the nearly five-minute message.
The White House has given no reason for the plan change, but it coincides with Trump’s fight with Congress over his veto of a major defense bill and his demand for tighter COVID-19 stimulus controls, as well as an increase in tensions with Iran.
While Trump is back in Washington, President-elect Joe Biden is expected to spend a quiet night at his beach house in Delaware, though he is due to appear on the long-running ABC special “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin ‘Eve with Ryan. Seacrest “. 2021 “Thursday night.
READ: McConnell thwarts Trump’s offer for $ 2,000 coronavirus financial aid checks
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, the House’s top Republican, dealt a fatal blow Wednesday on Trump’s proposal to boost coronavirus aid to Americans, declining to schedule a quick vote on a bill to increase aid checks to $ 2,000 from $ 600. included in a $ 892 billion aid package approved by Congress earlier this month.
McConnell again rejected a vote Thursday on an independent bill that would increase stimulus controls, calling it “socialism for the rich” and “a terrible way to get help for families who really need it.” The bill was approved by the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives on Monday.
McConnell also said that there should be nothing controversial about the passage of the $ 740 billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which Trump vetoed because it does not repeal certain legal protections for tech giants.
“We have enacted an annual NDAA for 59 years in a row and counting,” McConnell said. “In the coming days, the easy way or the hard way, we will do our job once again. This body will fulfill our responsibility to the men and women who protect our country.”
The House voted to overturn Trump’s veto on Monday. The Senate is likely to override the veto by Saturday at the latest.
If that happens, it would be the first time lawmakers have voted to override a Trump veto since he took office.
Republicans in Congress have largely stuck with Trump for four turbulent years, but the president is angry that they have not fully endorsed his baseless claims of voter fraud in the November 3 election won by Biden.
TENSIONS WITH REPUBLICANS
Trump tried to increase pressure on his fellow Republicans to back the most important checks for struggling Americans in a series of tweets in recent days in which he attacked Republican leaders as “pathetic” and accused the party of having a ” death wish “if he didn’t. increase stimulus payments.
Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri pledged Wednesday to challenge Biden’s victory when Congress meets to officially count Electoral College votes on Jan.6, which could spark a lengthy debate in the Republican-controlled Senate, but it has practically no chance of nullifying the results.
Some Republican senators had supported an increase in stimulus payments, including David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, who are facing runoff elections in Georgia next week that will determine which party controls the Senate under Biden.
Tensions among Republicans have been exacerbated by Congress’s effort to reject Trump’s veto of the NDAA.
The Senate voted 80-12 on Wednesday to begin debate on the issue, with another procedural vote scheduled for Friday.
Meanwhile, tensions between the United States and Iran have soared again.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Thursday accused Washington of trying to fabricate a pretext to attack his country and vowed that Tehran would defend itself even if it did not seek war.
Two US B-52 bombers flew over the Middle East on Wednesday in what US officials said was a deterrent message to Iran ahead of the first anniversary of a US drone strike that killed Iranian senior general Qassem Soleimani on January 3, 2020. .
Trump ignored journalists’ questions about tensions with Iran and whether he will attend Biden’s inauguration on January 20 when he returns to the White House on Thursday.
