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WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Tuesday (December 22) threatened not to sign a $ 892 billion coronavirus relief bill that includes desperately needed money for individual Americans, saying it should be modified to increase the amount on the stimulus controls.
US government operations will be funded on a temporary basis through Dec. 28, pending the $ 1.4 trillion in federal spending for fiscal year 2021 that is also part of the bill.
READ: US Congress Approves $ 892 Billion COVID-19 Aid Package; Trump to sign
Failure to pass another interim bill or overturn a possible Trump veto of the legislation could result in a partial government shutdown.
The threat from the outgoing Republican president, who has less than a month left in office, causes confusion in a bipartisan effort in Congress to provide aid to people whose lives have been disrupted by the pandemic.
“The bill that they now plan to send to my desk is very different than anticipated,” Trump said in a video posted on Twitter.
“It really is a shame.”
Both the US House of Representatives and the Senate passed the legislation Monday night.
Trump said he wants Congress to increase the amount of stimulus checks to $ 2,000 for individuals or $ 4,000 for couples, instead of the “ridiculously low” $ 600 for individuals currently listed in the bill.
Trump also complained about money in legislation for foreign countries, the Smithsonian Institution and fish farming, among other expenses.
“I am also asking Congress to immediately get rid of unnecessary and wasteful elements of this legislation and send me a proper bill, or else the next administration will have to deliver a COVID aid package. And maybe that administration is me, “said Trump, who has continued to push for unsubstantiated claims that he won reelection in November.
Trump, who will step down on January 20 when President-elect Joe Biden is sworn in, did not use the word “veto” in his statement.
The 92-6 vote in the Senate and the 359-53 vote in the House are well above the two-thirds majority needed to override a presidential veto, although some Republicans may be reluctant to override a veto if Trump uses that power.
READ: COVID-19 Relief Deal In Congress Slides Through Sunday As New Funding Deadline Approaches
A bill can be modified if the leaders of Congress so wish. If they don’t, Trump’s options are to turn the bill into law, veto it, or do nothing and let it become law.
If the bill is amended, doing so before December 28 could be very difficult.
It took months for the parties to accept the thousands of items not only in the coronavirus aid portion, but also in the $ 1.4 trillion deal to fund much of the US government.
Even if the leadership wants to amend the bill, it would still have to be voted on by the full House and Senate. Also, many Republicans might resist direct payments of $ 2,000 because that would raise the cost of the bill to more than $ 1 trillion.
Two years ago, a record-breaking 35-day government shutdown was triggered when Congress sent Trump a government spending bill that it thought he would support, only to see him reject it for what he said were insufficient funds. to build their acclaimed United States-Mexico border wall.
Trump also said a two-year tax break for corporate dining expenses “wasn’t enough” to help struggling restaurants.
The White House did not raise any objections to the legislation before its passage and gave every hope that Trump would sign it. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin participated in the negotiations on the bill.
White House officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump’s intentions.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a tweet that Republicans would not say during negotiations how much Trump wanted the stimulus checks to be. She said Democrats are ready to take their $ 2,000 check proposal to the House floor for a vote this week. It did not address Trump’s other concerns.
Trump’s complaints came just as the 5,500-page bill was being processed and sent to the White House for the president to sign, who is scheduled to leave Wednesday afternoon to spend the rest of the year at his Club Mar -a-Lake in Palm. Beach, Florida.
Trump’s video was recorded privately at the White House, without reporters present, continuing a recent boycott of appearing at public events where he could be exposed to questions about his failed attempt to challenge the results of the Nov.3 election.
