Billion defense bill. With 22 days left in office, the president is lashing out at weak and tired republican leadership. More than 100 republicans sided with democrats in the house to override his defense bill veto last night. So far, though, he is keeping support of the Georgia Republican senators facing critical runoffs next week. Senators david perdue, Kelly Loeffler today announced theyll now support sending americans 2,000 checks. From his golf club in south florida, the president is likely watching closely to see what Senate Mitch Mcconnell will do. What are we expecting . Reporter thats right. All eyes on the u. S. Senate at noon today. We expect majority leader Mitch Mcconnell could give the first indications of what he plans to do about the fact that the house overwhelmingly passed 2,000 stimulus checks. There are now five republican senators, including david perdue and Kelly Loeffler, both running for reelection in state of georgia january 5th that say they now support the proposal. We know that josh hawley and Lindsey Graham support this proposal. What is mcconnell going to do . One of the hardest, most difficult parts of this for the majority leader is the fact there are still a large number of conservatives, fiscal conservatives in the conference who are lukewarm on the president s proposal, and putting something on the floor that divides your conference is never a great idea when youre the majority leader. We are watching at noon to see whether or not mcconnell gives any indication of where he goes from here. You can also expect that senator Chuck Schumer, top democrat, will try to get unanimous consent agreement to just pass this house bill on the floor for those 2,000 checks, whether or not he gets that of course is unlikely. Any one senator could object, brianna. What are democrats planning to do . You said republicans could object to this. But what are democrats trying to do to put the pressure on republicans when it comes to increasing the amount of relief checks . Reporter what can always happen the end of the year when there are a large number of items that majority leader mcconnell wants to get finished, any one senator could delay the process. Thats what Bernie Sanders, an independent from vermont, is threatening to do. He is saying mcconnell, i want to make sure were going to vote on the 2,000 checks, and if you arent willing to put it on the floor, im going to make it harder to pass the National Defense authorization act, override vote of the president s veto. Thats going to be complicated, of course, because that could push the vote into the new year, new years day to be exact. This is a time lawmakers want to be home with their family, dont want to be on capitol hill, but thats what sanders is threatening at this moment that would push the vote from tomorrow when mcconnell wanted to have it into friday. Congress in on a holiday, i do not think so. Well see. Lauren fox, thank you so much for that. For more on how President Trump is reacting to all this, i want to go to cnns indicakaitlan co in west palm beach. The republicans are in a stuff spot, the president is keeping the pressure up, sending out tweets, rather harsh tweets aimed at republican leadership. Reporter aimed directly at Mitch Mcconnell. They dont name him specifically but it is pretty clear who the president is talking about when he says republicans need new leadership, and is calling current leadership of the Republican Party weak and pathetic saying that of course excludes him in his tweets. A lot of it has to do with what we are seeing that lauren laid out on capitol hill, also has to do with the fact that more and more republicans, brianna, acknowledge reality, talk about the fact that joe biden won the presidency. I think thats what a lot of the president s frustration is, where he is acting out, talking about 2,000 checks. His own team was part of the negotiations for the Coronavirus Relief bill that he finally signed sunday night after sitting on it several days. He never was involved in negotiations, demanding the 2,000 checks, and now he is, and he put his own party in this tough position of where the senate has to make a decision where theyre going to approve the 2,000 checks that initially a lot of republicans were not behind, they werent even happy with the 600 stimulus checks. Now they have to make the decision to do that or defy the president. I think youre seeing the position it is putting people in with Kelly Loeffler and david perdue that have a runoff race ahead of them. They have to make a decision that pleases the president and also where they stay in line with the party and where Mitch Mcconnell wants things to go. People inside the white house are waiting to see how mcconnell will navigate this. They dont know what the president s next step will be, theyre also watching to see what hes going to say when he gets on the senate floor any minute now. We are watching that as well, kaitlan. Well see what he says, well bring that to viewers as well. Kaitlan collins live from florida for us. I want to discuss what happens next. Scott jennings is a cnn political commentator, former Senior Communications adviser to senator mcconnell. Scott, i am wondering what youre looking for when we see Mitch Mcconnell soon on the floor giving us a sense of the path forward. Yeah, a couple of things. Good to be with you, by the way. One, i think he will talk about the ndaa, congress and strong joerts in both parties care about that. Looks like theyre on track to override the president s veto. Expect a lot of talk about that. Number two, the senators havent been together. Actually would be surprised if mcconnell knows exactly where everyone is at this moment. I wouldnt be surprised if we dont hear much about the clear path forward but rather that he will address the president s concerns but without a very specific path on how he plans to address them. Then this afternoon and into tonight, i expect the Senate Republican conference to talk amongst themselves where everyone is and what the plan is moving forward. I would be shocked, frankly, if theres a clear path in this speech. One thing is true. Mitch mcconnell has been a very solid governing partner for donald trump. When trump wanted to put something on the floor, mcconnell has always done it. But hes always done it in a way that tries to get the most republicans in his conference at the table and on board. So it will take mcconnell a few hours to pull that together i think. I would be surprised if he lays it out. Lets pick this conversation up after we listen to Mitch Mcconnell on the senate floor. And be printed in the record. Clerk will call the roll. Mr. Alexander. Scott, theyre calling the roll. Lets pick the conversation back up while we await comments from the Senate Majority leader. Talk a little about what a tricky situation it must be for Georgia Republican senators who have military bases in georgia. At the same time, the senate is voting on overriding the president s veto of that bill. This bill is important for georgia, has a lot of military facilities, and frankly important for the country. The country in a bipartisan way, we talk about the parties being at each others throats, but this is a bipartisan bill, they always passed the Defense Authorization bill, it is always bipartisan. They did a good bill here. I dont think it was smart for the president to veto it. It was almost certain it would be an override situation for him. That leaves him looking weaker when the president gets an override vote like that. All right. Lets pause, scott. Pause and listen to mcconnell. Yesterday, a bipartisan super majority of the house voted to reapprove the conference report of this must pass legislation. Today, the senate will set up final vote for tomorrow, wednesday, for this chamber to follow suit. Soon, this important legislation will be passed into law. President trump is rightly noted this years defense bill does not contain every provision we republicans would have wanted. I am confident the democratic colleagues feel the same way. But that is the case every year. For 59 consecutive years and counting washington put our differences aside, found common ground, passed the annual defense bill. Not once in six decades has congress let differences prevent it from completing this work for National Security and our men and women that wear the uniform. This years ndaa will continue to modernize armed forces and authorize personnel, equipment, tools and training we need to reinforce the National Defense strategy and to deter great power rivals like china and russia. It will cement our advantage on the seas, on land, in the air, in cyberspace, and in space. And the bill will help us continue to recruit, retain, support men and women that keep us safe. It provides a pay raise for the troops, improvements for military housing, child care, and more. So madam president , for brave men and women of the United States armed forces, failure is simply not an option. When it is our turn in congress to have their backs, failure is not an option either. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation one more time when we vote tomorrow. Now, on another matter, on sunday, President Trump signed into law another historic bipartisan rescue package. It will provide major support to American Families through what we hope will be the home stretch of our fight with the coronavirus. Republicans, congressional democrats, and President Trumps senior team had all worked together to pass hundreds of billions more urgent assistance to people that need it most. This new law will set up a targeted second round of paycheck protection to save jobs. It will renew and continue federal programs that helped laid off workers endure the crisis. It will send more cash to households. It will invest billions in Vaccine Distribution so the success of operation warp speed kills the pandemic as fast as possible, and much more. This bipartisan compromise was our shot getting help to working families on the urgent timeline that they need. Once again, i want to applaud President Trump for signing the bill and getting this much needed assistance into the pipeline. During this process, the president highlighted three additional issues of National Significance he would like to see congress tackle together. First, as he explained, the president would like further direct Financial Support for american households, second, growing willingness on both sides of the aisle to reexamine the special Legal Protections afforded to Technology Companies under section 230 of the communications december ensee act, including ways it benefits some of the most prosperous, most powerful big tech firms. The third subject since every american regardless of politics should feel the integrity of the democracy is beyond approach, exploring further ways to protect americas ballots while respecting the federal Government Limited Role in standing behind state and local government who actually run elections. Those are the three important subjects the president has linked together. This week, the senate will begin a process to bring these three priorities into focus. I move to proceed to calendar 480 s 3985. The clerk will report. Motion to proceed to s 3985, build to reform policing practices, accountability and transparency. Unanimous consent following leader remarks wednesday december 30th, time until 1 15 equally divided between proponents and opponents of the bill, opponent time controlled by senator paul or his designee. Further, upon use or yielding back of time, senate vote on passage of the bill, the objections of the president to the contrary notwithstanding. Finally it passed, motion to reconsider and leave on the table with no intervening action or debate. Is there objection . Reserving the right to object. The democratic leader. Thank you, madam president. Now, the senate is here this week for a rare holiday session to address two major issues. The president s veto of the annual defense bill and the effort to send 2,000 survival checks to millions and millions of American Families, Something Senate democrats strongly support. The senate should be in session to address both issues. There are only a few days left. We should not adjourn until the senate holds a vote on both measures, ndaa veto override and house bill to provide 2,000 checks for the American People. As we all know, the majority leader controls the schedule on the floor. So leader mcconnell holds the key to unlocking this dilemma. The solution is a simple one. Put both bills up for a simple up or down vote and then let the chips fall where they may. I believe both measures will pass, as they should. But leader mcconnell must allow the senate to vote on both pieces of legislation, the defense bill and the 2,000 checks, before we go home. We will start the process overriding the president s defense bill tomorrow. Today at the end of my remarks, i will ask the senates consent to take up the house passed bill to provide the American People immediate survival checks of 2,000 a person. Throughout this pandemic working americans have taken it on the chin. Right now, theyre facing their hardest and their darkest days. Tens of millions have lost their jobs. Tens of millions are struggling to put food on the table, keep a roof over their heads. In the wealthiest nation on earth, modern day lines stretch for miles down american highways. Fastest way to get money into americans pockets, send some of their tax dollars right back from where they came. 2,000 stimulus checks could mean the difference between American Families having groceries for a few extra weeks or going hungry. The difference between paying the rent or being kicked out of your home you lived in for years. It could buy precious time for tens of millions of people as the vaccine thankfully makes its way across the country. Of course, we could have taken up this issue weeks ago, in the covid bill Congress Just passed, democrats wanted generous direct payments to the American People. Speaker pelosi and i repeatedly asked our republican counterparts how much they could support. Their answer, 600. It was a compromise many of us were not happy about. I came to the floor myself with the senator from vermont to ask that we double at least the size of those checks. A republican senator objected, 600 was the most republicans would support. Well, my colleagues and my fellow americans, 600 is not enough, not enough for the mother in nashville, 4,000 behind on rent whose water was shut off earlier this month. Not for the medical receptionist in macomb. 2100 behind on the rent. Electricity shut off in september on her sons third day of virtual kindergarten. Not for 12 million americans who have fallen on average 6,000 behind on rent and utilities or the 26 million americans who have had trouble putting food on the table in the past five days. 600, no, thats not enough. So in a moment, i will move to have the senate take up the house bill to increase that number to 2,000, which i might add had broad bipartisan support. I dont want to hear we cant afford it. I dont want to hear that it would add too much to the deficit. Senate republicans added nearly 2 trillion to the deficit to give corporations a massive tax cut. Republicans fought to include a tax break for three martini lunches in the covid19 bill. I dont want to hear it costs too much to help working families get a check when theyre struggling to keep their jobs, pay their rent, feed their families, and live a halfway normal and decent life. Even in our deeply divided times, madam president , this issue has united americans from coast to coast and bridged the massive political divide in washington. Vast majority of the public, republican and democrat, strongly support 2,000 checks. An overwhelming bipartisan majority in the house supports 2,000 checks. Senate democrats strongly support 2,000 checks. Even President Trump supports 2,000 checks. Theres one question left today, do Senate Republicans join with the rest of america in supporting 2,000 checks. Some of my republican colleagues said they support the checks, but theres a major difference in saying you support 2,000 checks and fighting to put them into law. The house bill is the only way, the only way to deliver these stimulus checks before the end of session. Will Senate Republicans fight for a vote on the house passed cash act or will they look some other way. Will Senate Republicans stand against the house of representatives, the democratic majority in the senate, and president of their own party to prevent these 2,000 checks from going out the door. Were about to get the answers to these questions. So now, madam president , i ask consent to set the ndaa, no, sorry. Madam president , where am i. Would the senator modify his request to include a unanimous consent request that the, to include unanimous consent that the senate proceed to immediate consideration of hr 9051, a bill received from the house to increase recovery rebate amounts to 2,000 per individual, that the bill be read a third time and pa