Transition Highlights: McConnell Says Senate Wonât Unhitch $2,000 Checks From Other Demands
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Jan. 13, 2021, 5:41 a.m. ETJan. 13, 2021, 5:41 a.m. ET
Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, further dashed hopes for larger checks on Wednesday, saying their fate would remain tied to measures on election security and social media that President Trump has championed.
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McConnell Rejects Stand-Alone Vote on $2,000 Stimulus Checks
Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, said the chamber would not separate a vote on increasing relief checks to $2,000 from two other issues President Trump demanded Congress take up.
Our colleague says he will slow down this vital bill unless he gets to muscle through another stand-alone proposal from Speaker Pelosi that would add roughly a half a trillion dollars to the national debt. Which does not align with what President Trump has suggested, and which has no realistic path to quickly pass the Senate. After Congress and the administration finalized a bipartisan bill, the president expressed interest in further expanding non-targeted direct payment. So to ensure the president was comfortable signing the bill into law, the Senate committed to beginning one process that would combine three of the presidentâs priorities. Larger direct checks, a repeal of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act and further efforts to review the integrity of our democracy. Three of the presidentâs priorities in one Senate process. That was the commitment, and thatâs what happened yesterday when I introduced checks reflecting just what the president had, in fact, requested. Hereâs the deal. The Senate is not going to split apart the three issues that President Trump linked together just because Democrats are afraid to address two of them. The Senate is not going to be bullied into rushing out more borrowed money into the hands of Democratsâ rich friends who donât need the help.