Trump urges $2,000 checks — and Pelosi says ‘Lets do it!’ What about other lawmakers?

President Donald Trump urged Congress to approve $2,000 stimulus checks in the next coronavirus relief deal, calling the legislation just passed by both the U.S. House and Senate a “disgrace.”

Now some leading lawmakers, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, are voicing support for Trump’s push for higher payments.

In a video posted to Twitter Tuesday evening, Trump demanded Congress increase the “ridiculously low” $600 direct payments included in the most recent bill to $2,000 per person or $4,000 per couple and called other provisions in the legislation “wasteful spending and much more.”

“I am also asking Congress to immediately get rid of the wasteful and unnecessary items from this legislation, and to send me a suitable bill, or else the next administration will have to deliver a COVID relief package, and maybe that administration will be me,” Trump said.

The $900 billion package, passed by Congress late Monday, comes about nine months after the first stimulus deal was reached — following numerous delays and debates among congressional leaders about what the legislation should contain.

The aid package, currently awaiting Trump’s signature to become law, includes $600 direct payments for millions of Americans making up to $75,000 a year but is less generous than the $2 trillion CARES Act, which provided $1,200 payments for individuals who met that same income threshold.

Trump didn’t say that he would veto the legislation giving $600 checks — and both houses of Congress passed the bill with veto-proof majorities, meaning the Senate and House could override Trump’s veto if he tried to block the measure.

Pelosi, who represents California in the U.S. House of Representatives, agreed to Trump’s push for $2,000 payments.

“At last, the President has agreed to $2,000 — Democrats are ready to bring this to the Floor this week by unanimous consent. Let’s do it!” she tweeted Tuesday night.

Pelosi said in a statement Wednesday that Democrats were met with “Sphinx-like silence” when they asked Republicans for the highest number Trump would accept for stimulus checks.

Pelosi also reaffirmed that House Democrats, who have a majority in the chamber, will try to pass $2,000 payments by unanimous consent on Thursday morning but that they need the agreement of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. The measure won’t pass if any Republican in the House objects and it also requires unanimous support from Senate Republicans.

“If the President truly wants to join us in $2,000 payments, he should call upon Leader McCarthy to agree to our Unanimous Consent request,” she said.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, initially said on Tuesday that Trump “needs to sign the bill to help people and keep the government open and we’re glad to pass more aid Americans need.”

He later threw his support behind $2,000 checks, writing on Twitter: “I’m in. Whaddya say, Mitch? Let’s not get bogged down with ideological offsets and unrelated items and just DO THIS! The American people deserve it.”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, hasn’t responded publicly to Trump’s demand for more aid as of Wednesday morning.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, a Democrat, said he supported $2,000 stimulus checks, blaming Republicans for delaying relief for Americans.

“House Democrats have fought for months to provide relief to the American people, which Republicans rejected at every turn. Now that the President has agreed to direct payments of $2000, we will ask for unanimous consent to pass a bill this week to give Americans this assistance,” Hoyer wrote on Twitter.

Some Republicans, including Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, also said they support Trump’s demand for higher payments.

Graham, one of Trump’s closest allies, wrote on Twitter: “Appreciate the fact that Speaker Pelosi supports President Donald Trump‘s idea to increase direct payments to $2,000 per person.”

“The American people are hurting and deserve relief,” he continued. “I know there is much bipartisan support for this idea. Let’s go further.”

Graham previously said he supports a bigger relief deal “as long as it’s smart,” Newsweek reported.

Hawley introduced legislation earlier this month that would provide Americans with $1,200 stimulus checks and said he wouldn’t sign onto a second deal unless it included direct payments for Americans, McClatchy News reported.

“President Donald Trump is right — workers deserve much more than $600, as I have repeatedly said & fought for,” Hawley wrote on Twitter Tuesday.

U.S. Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib — two liberal Democratic members of “The Squad” — said they’re prepared to act on Trump’s request for $2,000 stimulus checks and have the amendment ready.

“Let’s do it,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted. “Rashida Tlaib and I already co-wrote the COVID amendment for $2,000 checks, so it’s ready to go.”

“Glad to see the President is willing to support our legislation,” Ocasio-Cortez continued. “We can pass $2k checks this week if the Senate GOP agrees to stand down.”

“Me and Ocasio-Cortez have the amendment ready,” Tlaib also wrote on Twitter. “Send the bill back, and we will put in the $2,000 we’ve been fighting for that your party has been blocking.”

Sen. Kelly Loeffler, a Republican who represents Georgia in the U.S. Senate, said she’d “certainly look at supporting it if it repurposes wasteful spending toward that,” The Hill reported.

Loeffler is one of the candidates running in Georgia’s U.S. Senate runoffs on Jan. 5, which will determine if Democrats or Republicans control the chamber. Raphael Warnock, her Democratic challenger, said he supports increased stimulus checks.

“This sounds like a no from billionaire Senator Loeffler,” Warnock wrote on Twitter in response to Loeffler’s remarks. “Georgia families can’t wait. $2,000 checks should be passed now.”

Sen. David Perdue, a Republican who is also running in the Georgia runoffs, hasn’t commented publicly on Trump’s urging for higher payments.

Democrat Jon Ossoff has agreed with Trump. “$600 is a joke. They should send $2,000 checks to the American people right now because people are hurting,” he said in a CNN interview.

This story was originally published December 23, 2020 at 7:10 AM with the headline "Trump urges $2,000 checks — and Pelosi says ‘Lets do it!’ What about other lawmakers?."