Trump backs down, signs stimulus package
A government shutdown was averted after the president
approved the Covid relief package and annual spending bill.
By BURGESS
EVERETT, SARAH FERRIS, MARIANNE LEVINE and MELANIE ZANONA
12/27/2020
05:30 PM EST
Updated:
12/27/2020 09:28 PM EST
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/12/27/congress-stimulus-deal-450380
President
Donald Trump signed into law a major coronavirus stimulus package along with an
annual spending bill, avoiding a government shutdown before a Monday night
deadline.
Trump has
railed against the $900 billion coronavirus relief bill and a $1.4 trillion
government funding bill since Congress approved it, demanding $2,000 checks and
cutting out foreign aid. But on Sunday evening after days of being lobbied by
allies, Trump decided to sign the bill and not leave office amid a maelstrom of
expired benefits and a government shutdown.
He said he
will insist on reductions in spending in parts of the bill, though Congress
does not have to go along.
"I
will sign the omnibus and Covid package with a strong message that makes clear
to Congress that wasteful items need to be removed. I will send back to
Congress a redlined version, item by item, accompanied by the formal rescission
request to Congress insisting that those funds be removed from the bill,"
Trump said on Sunday night.
The
president also said the Senate would soon begin work on ending legal
protections for tech companies, examining voter fraud and boosting the check
size for direct payments. The current Congress ends in six days.
“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," said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in a statement
that did not mention the commitments Trump said the Senate has made.
House
Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and several Republican senators, including Sens.
David Perdue (R-Ga.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), labored to convince Trump to
sign off on the bill over the weekend, according to multiple sources.
Without
action, the government was set to shut down on Monday night and an eviction
moratorium would lapse shortly thereafter. Though Trump's decision headed that
off, his initial refusal to sign the bill may still have consequences after
unemployment benefits lapsed over the weekend.
After
careful negotiations among congressional leaders and Treasury Secretary Steven
Mnuchin, Trump threatened to blow up the deal — which his own administration
negotiated and indicated he would support. More than $2 trillion was at stake,
including badly needed pandemic aid for programs like unemployment and food
assistance.
Republicans
both privately and publicly tried to sway Trump to change his mind after days
of attacks on the bill.
“I
understand he wants to be remembered for advocating for big checks, but the
danger is he’ll be remembered for chaos and misery and erratic behavior if he
allows this to expire,” Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) said on “Fox News Sunday” of
Trump’s demand for larger stimulus checks.
“You don’t
get everything you want, even if you’re the president of the United States,” he
said. Toomey also suggested that most Republicans won’t support the $2,000
checks the president wants because it’s “terribly untargeted.”
The House
is returning Monday after Trump made good on his threat to veto a $741 billion
defense policy bill on Dec. 23 over his objections to renaming military bases
honoring Confederate leaders as well as online liability protections, requiring
lawmakers to take action before the end of the 116th Congress. The Senate is expected
to return Tuesday.
Both the
defense bill and the spending package passed Congress by veto-proof majorities.
Congress sent the massive spending package to Trump Thursday.
The $600
stimulus checks that were once expected to reach Americans by this week now
could be delayed. Meanwhile, unemployment programs established earlier this
year expired over the weekend.
Trump spent
the weekend railing against the current package, tweeting that he wants to
“increase payments to the people, get rid of the ‘pork’” and “$2000 + $2000
plus other family members. Not $600. Remember, it was China’s fault!”
Lawmakers
were preparing for catastrophe amid Trump's threats, and House members were
prepared on Monday to vote on a short-term funding bill to avert a midnight
shutdown. The House will move ahead with a vote Monday on boosting direct
payments to $2,000, forcing Republicans to go on the record against the
president.
“Now, the
president must immediately call on congressional Republicans to end their
obstruction and to join him and Democrats in support of our stand-alone
legislation to increase direct payment checks to $2,000, which will be brought
to the floor tomorrow,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement Sunday night.
Senate
Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Sunday night he will attempt to pass $2,000
checks in the Senate but he is all but guaranteed to face objections from some
Republicans. The Senate is scheduled to return Tuesday to begin the process of
overriding Trump’s veto of the annual defense bill.
It’s the
latest whiplash for the 116th Congress, which began with an epic 35-day
government shutdown and will end with twin public health and economic crises.
Party
leaders were forced to make plans quickly after Trump called the coronavirus
package a “disgrace” and demanded $1,400 more per stimulus check. But several
noted that Trump has also expressed frustration with legislation that he then
proceeded to sign, including a $1.3 trillion spending bill in 2018.
In a video
message last week, Trump criticized the stimulus bill for “wasteful spending,”
even though he previously approved the spending levels. In an effort to appease
the president, McCarthy suggested revisiting funding levels for state and
foreign operations, but Senate Republicans don’t appear to have much appetite
for renegotiation.
“Frankly if
you start opening part of the bill up, it's hard to defend not opening the
whole bill up,” said Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo), the No. 4 GOP leader. “It took us a
long time to get to where we are, I think, reopening that bill would be a
mistake.”
Trump’s
eleventh-hour demands came after he largely stayed out of negotiations, leaving
much of the deal making to Mnuchin. The president is instead focusing on a
futile effort to overturn the results of Nov. 3 election and is lashing out at
Republicans, including McConnell and Senate Majority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.)
for recognizing Joe Biden as president-elect.
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