US President Donald Trump attends a medal ceremony at the Oval Office in the White House in Washington, December 3, 2020.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
President Donald Trump, in a stunning tweet on Tuesday night, called Congressional $ 900 billion bill for Covid an inappropriate “disgrace” and urged lawmakers to make a number of changes to the measure, including increased direct payments to individuals. and families.
Trump also suggested his administration could be the ‘next administration’ despite his loss to President-elect Joe Biden.
The president’s tweet, which included a video discussing what he sees as the bill’s many flaws, came less than 24 hours after the senate passed the measure.
Trump did not threaten to veto the video, and was expected to sign the legislation into law, along with a $ 1.4 trillion spending bill to keep the government open.
“I ask Congress to change this bill and raise the ridiculously low $ 600 to $ 2,000, or $ 4,000 for a few,” Trump said in the video.
Spokesmen for Senate Leader Mitch McConnell, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Leader Chuck Schumer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The size of direct payments was a major bottleneck in the final bill, which came after months of failed talks and false starts as the economy struggled to recover and hundreds of thousands of Americans died from the coronavirus.
GOP Senator Josh Hawley and Independent Senator Bernie Sanders, consulting with the Democrats, had pushed for $ 1,200 checks for individuals, which would have matched what the government sent the people during the early stages of the spring pandemic.
Trump also said that if Congress doesn’t deliver the aid package it wants, it will be left to the next administration.
“And maybe I am the administration and we can get it done,” he said.
Trump lost to Biden in the November election. Yet the president falsely maintained that he had actually won the election and that he was the victim of widespread voter fraud. Several judges have rejected attempts by Trump and Trump allies to undo Biden’s victory.
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