Congressional Dems move forward on $2,000 checks after Trump signs COVID relief bill
Despite Trump support, fate of increased payments unclear in GOP-led Senate.
It's unclear why President Donald Trump decided to change course and sign the coronavirus relief and government funding bill after calling it a "disgrace" and demanding the direct payments be increased from $600 to $2,000, but his move Sunday night averted a government shutdown.
Striking a victorious tone on Twitter, the president claimed that the Senate would begin the process of voting on $2,000 checks with his approving the funding bill, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in a statement Sunday didn't say if the vote on the increased payment was going to happen.
The House narrowly approved $2,000 payments in a vote Monday evening. There were 44 Republicans who voted with Democrats and the final vote tally was 275-134, receiving the two-thirds majority it required under the expedited vote.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer quickly put out a statement saying he'd move to pass the legislation on Tuesday.
"Every Senate Democrat is for this much-needed increase in emergency financial relief, which can be approved tomorrow if no Republican blocks it -- there is no good reason for Senate Republicans to stand in the way," he said in the statement. "There's strong support for these $2,000 emergency checks from every corner of the country -- Leader McConnell ought to make sure Senate Republicans do not stand in the way of helping to meet the needs of American workers and families who are crying out for help."
Even though Trump supports the measure, a number of House Republicans voted against the bill and its fate remains uncertain in the GOP-led Senate.
It puts congressional Republicans in a tricky spot to navigate. A vote in favor of increasing direct payments would substantially increase the national debt, but a vote against it would deny needed money for Americans wrecked by the economic fallout of the pandemic.
In his statement released Sunday night, Trump also expressed a new demand that he wanted to see spending cuts included in the package. Trump said he would be send a "redlined" version of the bill back to Congress. McConnell's statement on Sunday did not specify if Trump got anything at all in return for his approving the bill.
"I applaud President Trump's decision to get hundreds of billions of dollars of crucial COVID-19 relief out the door and into the hands of American families as quickly as possible," McConnell said in his statement.
ABC News' Mariam Khan and Trish Turner contributed to this report.
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