House to vote on $2,000 stimulus after Trump’s signing of relief bill

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has shown no intention of voting on the bill, should it pass the House.

Dec 28, 2020

After holding off on signing a relief package to benefit hundreds of millions of Americans, President Donald Trump has signed off on the stimulus package.

At the 11th hour, Trump threatened to veto the bill by advocating for $2,000 checks for Americans. Democrats quickly seized on the idea, which they had floated in the House of Representatives for months.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell speaks after a meeting with the Senate Republican caucus earlier this month. He has shown no intention of bringing the $2,000 stimulus-check bill to a Senate vote should it pass the House. (Photo by Sarah Silbiger-Pool/Getty Images)

Today, the House is planning to bring a measure to the floor to authorize an increase in the stimulus-check amounts from $600 to $2,000.

In a statement Sunday night after signing the first bill into law, the president encouraged Senators to “start the process for a vote that increases checks to $2,000.”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has shown no intention of voting on the bill, should it pass the House.

In a statement shared on his Twitter page, McConnell wrote, “The bipartisan rescue package that Republicans in Congress and the Trump administration negotiated with the Democrats will extend another major lifeline to workers at struggling small businesses, renew major relief for laid-off Americans, invest billions more in vaccine distribution and send cash directly to households, and more.”

“The compromise bill is not perfect,” he continued, “but it will do an enormous amount of good for struggling Kentuckians and Americans across the county who need help now.”

McConnell then thanked the president for signing the bill into law. “I am glad the American people will receive this much-needed assistance as our nation continues battling this pandemic,” he said.

Trump signed the bill late Sunday, but because he did not sign it the day before, unemployment benefits for millions of Americans will lapse. The 12-week extension written into the bill will now be only 11 weeks.

Experts are encouraging Americans to file for a Recovery Rebate Credit in their 2020 taxes as the year comes to a close.

President-elect Joe Biden called Trump’s failure to sign an “abdication of responsibility” that will have “devastating consequences.”

Checks are slated to begin reaching Americans as soon as next week.

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