Trump, Who Supports $2,000 Stimulus Checks, Wants Direct Payments ‘Right Now’

stimulus package 2 Trump

Getty U.S. President Donald Trump.

President Donald Trump has weighed in on the debate over whether to give Americans a second COVID-19 stimulus check, saying a second check is needed “right now.”

Trump made the comments on Sunday December 14 to Brian Kilmeade of Fox News. The president is weighing in as Congress remains in a stalemate over stimulus relief with the end of the year looming and a pair of Georgia Senate races about to determine the control of Congress.

It’s up to Republicans and Democrats to agree over a plan, and they’ve stalled over the price tag of a second relief bill, with Democrats wanting more than Republicans in spending. A series of other proposals, from skinny bills to bipartisan efforts to find a compromise, have fallen by the wayside as the days tick by.

The president – Trump and, soon, Joe Biden – doesn’t have the power to approve stimulus checks on his own, so Trump’s comments amount to an attempt to use his bully pulpit to encourage both sides to get it done and break the gridlock.

Here’s what you need to know:


Trump Said He Wants More Money Going to People

barron trump

Getty Barron Trump, President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump walk on the South Lawn of the White House on August 16, 2020.

Trumo made it clear in the Kilmeade interview that he not only wants a second round of checks, but he also wants them to be larger than the $1,200 that’s generally been floated in different plans. That was the amount given to qualifying Americans in the first round of stimulus checks.

“Right now, I want to see checks – for more money than they’re talking about – going to people,” Trump said during an interview with Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade that aired on Sunday. “I’m pushing it very hard, and to be honest with you, if the Democrats really wanted to do the deal, they’d do the deal.”

The Washington Post has reported that Trump would like to see $2,000 checks go to Americans.


A Bipartisan Plan Is Getting Some Support But Doesn’t Contain a Second Round of Checks

bernie sanders new york ballot

GettyBernie Sanders wanted to stay on the New York ballot.

There is a bipartisan plan for about $908 billion that has been gaining some traction, but it doesn’t contain a second round of checks at all.

A bipartisan pair of Senators – Bernie Sanders and Josh Hawley – have proposed an amendment to change that. It would give qualifying Americans $1,200 checks.

On Twitter, Sanders wrote, “People all over the country are thinking: Does the government hear their pain? Does their government give a damn about them? If we rally the American people, we can make sure Congress provides at least a $1200 payment for every working class adult.”

Hawley said in a floor speech: “If the Senate of the United States can find hundreds of billions of dollars to give to big government and big business, surely it can find some relief for working families and working individuals.”

“I introduced an amendment with @HawleyMO that would provide a direct payment of $1,200 for working-class individuals, $2,400 for couples and $500 for kids,” Sanders wrote on Twitter.

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