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Advisors to President Donald Trump have dissuaded him from calling for $ 2,000 stimulus checks in the next federal bailout because it could derail ongoing relief negotiations on Capitol Hill, the Washington Post reported.
The newspaper cited two sources close to the events.
The Post reported that Trump had a phone call with allies when he said he wanted the stimulus payments to be “at least” $ 1,200 and possibly as high as $ 2,000. Congressional leaders are now drafting a $ 900 billion emergency relief plan with $ 600 stimulus payments for Americans, half of the $ 1,200 distributed in March and April under a precedent pandemic assistance program.
Trump was expressing his desire when White House officials told him the move would capsize negotiations between senior Republicans and Democrats, which appear likely to slip into the weekend. Republicans are trying to keep the price of a relief program below $ 1 trillion, and larger out-of-pocket payments could raise the cost of the legislation far beyond that.
An anonymous source told the Post that “the assistants were really frantic, saying, ‘We can’t do this; it will explode the negotiations. “”
Ben Williamson, a White House spokesman, told the Post that Trump was supporting large relief payments for struggling Americans.
“The president has heard from Americans across the country who are suffering through no fault of their own, and he’s made it clear that he wants the next round of relief to include significant numbers of stimulus checks,” he said. declared. “We are working with Congress to come to an agreement that can be passed as quickly as possible.”
As the election draws near, Trump has called for a major relief package and has at times suggested he could support one larger than the $ 2.2 trillion Democrats want. But Republicans did not follow suit and repeatedly threw cold water on his demands. Instead, they chose to push for a $ 500 billion relief package that Democrats have twice blocked.
The president’s stance on the stimulus has changed dramatically in the past, and he has remained largely silent on the subject since his electoral loss to President-elect Joe Biden. Trump, however, has indicated recently that he still supports significant stimulus checks. “Right now, I want to see checks – for more money than they talk about – going to people,” he told Fox News in an interview that aired Sunday.
The White House jumped into stimulus talks last week with a $ 916 billion offer, and it included $ 600 stimulus checks for people. But Democrats criticized him for excluding federal unemployment benefits.
On Capitol Hill, Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri and Independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont made calls to include stimulus checks, which were initially left out of a bipartisan plan currently under consideration. Progressive lawmakers in the House have also stepped up their willingness to include large stimulus payments in the next relief plan.
Read the original article on Business Insider
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