[ad_1]
Trump on Friday called the Republican-controlled Senate “pathetic” for failing to honor $ 2,000 stimulus checks and other demands he wanted to associate after the Senate voted to overturn his veto on the bill defense policy of $ 741 billion.
“Now they want to give people ravaged by the Chinese virus $ 600, rather than the $ 2,000 they desperately need,” Trump tweeted, referring to Republicans in the Senate. “Not fair, nor smart!”
Indeed, Democratic challengers Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff have jumped at the president’s demand to increase pandemic relief payments by $ 1,400. It’s a major closing argument for them – especially on the heels of Senate Republicans who are blocking a stand-alone bill to increase the value of checks.
“If David Perdue was serious about supporting the $ 2,000 checks for the people, he would put the maximum pressure on Mitch McConnell to pass this legislation now,” Ossoff told reporters Thursday after a New Year’s Eve campaign rally. New Year’s Eve early in the morning.
Campaigning an hour south of Atlanta on Friday, Warnock echoed Trump’s criticisms of GOP leaders, calling them “shameful.”
“We should have gone through relief months ago. This is what happens when politics is about politicians, ”Warnock said. “It’s a lot of maneuvering between politicians. And they experience a kind of privilege that allows them to do that.
Democrats believe their best chance of getting more money for coronavirus aid with Biden in the White House depends on the party controlling the Senate, as GOP leaders are yet to commit to another round of funds. Ossoff and Warnock laser-focused on coronavirus relief measures, and Trump’s advocacy – coupled with resistance from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to the idea – put Loeffler and Perdue in a difficult position .
Senate Democrats kept the chamber in session until New Year’s Day as they delayed an effort to override Trump’s veto on the annual defense bill, giving them a platform days before the second round to highlight the problem – as well as McConnell’s opposition to inflating checks.
“[Americans] will know that Leader McConnell and the Republican majority prevented them from getting the checks, plain and simple, ”Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (DN.Y.) said on Friday.
Some Republicans fear these attacks will materialize. A GOP agent who was granted anonymity to frankly assess the matter said some GOP members “haven’t noticed that every ad Democrats put out is about Republicans who oppose direct controls.”
Loeffler and Perdue said earlier this week that they supported the increase in payments by $ 2,000, after Trump pressured him and Democrats used it as a starting point in both races. They also blamed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for turning down Republicans’ offers on coronavirus relief measures ahead of the presidential election.
Other Republicans don’t think the problem hurts campaigns, especially since Trump doesn’t directly attack Loeffler and Perdue. In contrast, Trump on Friday called on South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem to launch a main challenge against Senator John Thune, the second Republican in the Senate. And with 3 million votes already cast during the state’s early voting period, there isn’t much that can be done at this late stage to persuade voters, Republicans say, to focus on instead. the voting events of the last few days. Loeffler spoke with Trump earlier Friday to reiterate his support for the checks, according to a person familiar with the discussion.
Some Republicans say the question just won’t resonate at this point, with millions of early votes and more than $ 500 million spent on defining race. Liam Donovan, a Republican strategist who has followed the relief legislation, said checks would be a “buzzword” for blame if Republicans fell on Tuesday, but he doubted it would actually have much of an impact on the community. end of the match.
“Regardless of the downside risk, the idea that this race would be a slam dunk for the GOP if they bite the half-trillion dollar bullet and pass bigger checks is very dubious,” Donovan said. . “The Democrats did an impressive job securing their vote. Republicans must now do the same, and it won’t depend on the magnitude of the stimulus.
Despite calls from the president and Democrats to increase the amount of out-of-pocket payments, neither Loeffler nor Perdue called for a stand-alone vote on the measures, as Senate Democrats demanded in Washington. Instead, senators are pairing their support for Trump’s unrelated demands for electoral fraud investigations and the repeal of a legal shield for social media companies.
“I’m with the president all the time on these three things,” Perdue said during a campaign event earlier this week. Even if the measure were to be voted on at the last minute, he would not be able to support it as he is in quarantine after coming into close contact with someone who has tested positive for Covid-19.
Loeffler, in an interview Thursday, said she supported the checks, but did not say she should receive a stand-alone vote in the chamber. She reiterated McConnell’s objections to the law as giving money to higher wage earners who did not need it.
“Of course I support these checks,” Loeffler said. “And [Pelosi] recently increased income levels, for example. What we don’t need to do is bail out its Blue State millionaires.
Republicans believed they had blunted Ossoff and Warnock’s criticism of their Covid-19 measures after Trump signed the $ 900 billion coronavirus relief measure on Sunday, which was featured in Perdue and Loeffler’s campaign ads before. even to have received his signature. Campaigns were relieved when Trump finally signed the bill after initially suggesting he could veto it because he believed the value of stimulus checks, $ 600, was too low.
Privately, some Republicans say they want Trump to remove him, believing his flanks will hurt Loeffler and Perdue as the party clings to the Senate majority. But they don’t say it publicly.
“The president’s persistence against Senate Republicans when the majority is at stake is one of the most unnecessary things he has done during his presidency,” said a GOP strategist.
[ad_2]
Source link