On Wednesday, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said that a House-passed bill to boost stimulus checks to $2,000 “has no realistic path to quickly pass the Senate."

On the Senate floor Wednesday, McConnell once again blocked an effort from Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to move for a vote on the standalone bill already passed by the House.

What You Need To Know

  • Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said that a House-passed bill to boost stimulus checks to $2,000 “has no realistic path to quickly pass the Senate"

  • McConnell once again blocked an effort from Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to move for a vote on the standalone bill already passed by the House

  • McConnell filed new legislation Tuesday linking the president’s demand for bigger checks with two other Trump priorities — a liability shield for companies like Facebook and Twitter as well as the establishment of a commission to review the presidential election

  • The two issues attached to the $2,000 checks are both a no-go for Democrats, meaning it's unlikely to get a vote either

Late Tuesday, McConnell filed new legislation linking the president’s demand for bigger checks with two other Trump priorities — a liability shield for companies like Facebook and Twitter as well as the establishment of a commission to review the presidential election. 

“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,” McConnell said Wednesday. “The Senate is not going to be bullied into rushing out more money to Democrats’ rich friends that don’t need the help.”

The two issues attached to the $2,000 checks are both a no-go for Democrats, meaning it's unlikely to get a vote either.

“At the very least, the Senate deserves the opportunity for an up-or-down vote on increasing the individual payments to the American people,” Schumer said. 

“It appears he may be considering a different bill that packages stimulus checks with other, unrelated and partisan policies,” he added.  “So I want to be very clear about one thing: there is no other game in town besides the House bill.”

But McConnell has not promised a vote on the new bill or a vote on the House-passed measure, and it’s unclear if either will reach the floor by the end of the year.

Earlier Wednesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also called on Republicans to consider approving the larger checks.

“These Republicans in the Senate seem to have an endless tolerance for other people's sadness,” Pelosi said. “We urge Mitch McConnell to stop his obstruction and to bring that legislation to the floor of the Senate. 

Even Newt Gingrich, the former Speaker of the House and a staunch Trump ally, urged McConnell not to delay in taking up the matter: "If Senate Republicans fail to bring up the $2000 payment as a clean vote they run a real risk of losing the two seats in Georgia. This is an 80% issue. People get it. Billions for the banks, billions for big companies,but we can’t find $2000 for everyday Americans," he wrote on Twitter.

 

 

 

"Six days before the most important run off in American history is no time to be engaged in clever parliamentary maneuvers which everyone in America will see through," he added. "A complicated bill is a maneuver to kill a $2000 payment 80% of Americans favor. And they will know it."

President Trump also continued to push for boosted checks on Twitter Wednesday. “2,000 ASAP!” he wrote.

A handful of Republican senators have come out in support for larger payments, but it’s unclear whether there are enough votes for the bill to pass. Many Republicans favor mean-based aid instead of universal, direct payments.

On Monday evening, House lawmakers passed the Caring for Americans with Supplemental Help (CASH) Act easily, 275-134, which would raise stimulus checks for Americans from $600 to $2,000.

44 Republicans joined 231 Democrats in supporting the measure.