Pros and cons of Trump in Congress

Congressional Democrats and Republicans agreed to the colossal $ 900 billion ($ 7.4 billion) aid package on December 21.

But Trump still waited until Monday to sign the package, under threat of shutting down the state apparatus, and after calling it a disgrace.

One point Trump criticized externally was the $ 600 amount that all tax-paying Americans should allocate in the package. Instead, he demanded at least $ 2,000.

Risking the wrath of voters

That demand is met by the outgoing Republican president and Democrats, who have the majority in the House of Representatives and who have long wanted the most.

However, many Republicans, who have a majority in the Senate, oppose increasing the amount and it is not clear if Trump wants or can make them change.

Now Democrats want to try to use the unholy alliance with Trump as a trump card through money, or at least get Republican opponents to outright reject the proposal and thus risk potential voter ire.

At midnight, around Swedish time on Tuesday, the House of Representatives voted to raise the check to $ 2,000, thus passing the ball to the Senate.

Veto revoked

The House of Representatives also gathered enough people to vote and override the veto that Trump, despite Congress, placed just before Christmas against the country’s $ 740 billion (about $ 6.1 billion) defense budget.

Among other things, Trump considered that the National Defense Authorization Act “does not cover important national security measures.”

For 60 years in a row, Congress has managed to pass the defense budget, and this year too. Support was great, with more than two-thirds of politicians in each chamber.

For Trump’s veto to be overturned, a two-thirds majority in both houses is required. In the vote in the House of Representatives, 322 voted in favor and 87 against. 109 of those who voted were Republicans.

Even on this matter, it will be up to the Senate to decide. If the Senate also goes against Trump by a two-thirds majority, then it is the first of Trump’s vetoes that Congress overrides.

Tomas Bengtsson / TT

Gustav Sjöholm / TT