After throwing a grenade that threatens to blow up a massive Covid emergency relief and government funding bill and force a government shutdown amid a pandemic, Donald Trump rippled for a second straight day on Christmas.
If you disagree on the bill, millions of Americans could be borderline denied checks.
Trump had no events on his public calendar on the first day of his winter vacation on Thursday, but traveled to his Palm Beach golf club, where he was spotted by CNN cameras on the links.
Reporters were not given details of his daily schedule, but said that: “As the holiday season approaches, President Trump will continue to work tirelessly for the American people. His schedule includes many meetings and phone calls. “
Trump’s departure came as Washington was still in doubt about his surprise, 11th-hour demand that a year-end bill that Congress leaders negotiated for months on end would give most Americans $ 2,000 Covid relief checks – far more than the $ 600 members of its own party agreed. The idea was quickly rejected by House Republicans during a rare Christmas Eve session, leaving the proposal in limbo.
The bipartisan compromise was considered a done deal and had received wide approval in the House and Senate this week after the White House assured GOP leaders that Trump supported it. If Trump refuses to sign the deal, which is tied to a $ 1.4 trillion government funding bill, it will force a federal government shutdown, in addition to delaying aid checks and halting unemployment benefits and eviction protections in the midst of the most pressing part of the pandemic.
It was a clear act of antagonism to congressional republicans from a president raging over his November 3 loss to president-elect Joe Biden and trying to devise new, increasingly outrageous plans to try to undo the results of a Democratic election. He is urged on by allies such as his attorney, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who accompanied the President to Florida aboard Air Force One.
Trump’s anger was directed in part at Republicans in Congress who, he says, have given insufficient support to his quest to delegitimize Biden’s victory by lobbying for groundless claims of massive voter fraud before Congress meets to vote for the electoral college on January 6. count.
Meanwhile, the nation continues to falter as the coronavirus spreads, with record infections and hospitalizations and more than 327,000 now dead. And millions face the prospect of spending the holidays alone or struggling to make ends meet without adequate income, food, or shelter thanks to the economic toll of the pandemic.
Meanwhile, Democratic House speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin have been trying to bail out the end-of-year legislation to avoid a shutdown. Democrats will recall House lawmakers to Washington for a vote Monday on Trump’s $ 2,000 proposal, though it would likely die in the GOP-controlled Senate. They are also considering voting on an emergency measure on Monday to at least prevent a federal shutdown and keep the government going until Biden is inaugurated on Jan. 20.
In addition to the emergency checks, the passed Covid law would establish a temporary supplementary unemployment benefit of $ 300 per week, bring in another round of funding for hard-hit businesses, restaurants and theaters and money for schools, and bring in money for health care providers and to help with the distribution of Covid vaccines.