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Monday 28 deceMber 2020
Lawmakers press Trump on relief bill as jobless aid expires
have Trump's support — be line. Protections against cent days as he has criti-
revised to include larger evictions also hang in the cized it both privately to
COVID relief checks and balance. club members and publicly
scaled-back spending. "What the president is do- on Twitter.
If he continues his foot- ing right now is unbeliev- Days ago, Democrats said
dragging, the federal ably cruel," said Sen. Bernie they would call House law-
government will run out of Sanders, I-Vt. "So many makers back to Washing-
money at 12:01 a.m. Tues- people are hurting. ... It is ton for a vote Monday on
day while he spends the really insane and this presi- Trump's proposal to send
holidays golfing in Florida. dent has got to finally ... do out $2,000 relief checks,
In the face of growing the right thing for the Amer- instead of the $600 ap-
economic hardship and ican people and stop wor- proved by Congress. But
spreading disease, law- rying about his ego." the idea is likely to die in
makers urged Trump on Republican Sen. Pat the Republican-controlled
Sunday to sign the legis- Toomey of Pennsylvania Senate, as it did among
President Donald Trump rides in a motorcade vehicle as he lation immediately, then said he understood that Republicans in the House
departs his Mar-a-Lago resort, Sunday, Dec. 27, 2020, in Palm have Congress follow up Trump "wants to be remem- during a rare Christmas Eve
Beach, Fla. with additional aid. Aside bered for advocating for session. Democrats were
Associated Press from unemployment ben- big checks, but the danger also considering a vote
Continued from Front tions when he demanded efits and relief payments to is he'll be remembered for Monday on a stop-gap
last week that the pack- families, money for vaccine chaos and misery and er- measure aimed at keeping
Trump blindsided members age — already passed the distribution, businesses, ratic behavior if he allows the government running
of both parties and up- House and Senate by large cash-starved public transit this to expire." until President-elect Joe Bi-
ended months of negotia- margins and believed to systems and more is on the Toomey added: "So I think den is inaugurated Jan. 20.
the best thing to do, as Washington has been reel-
I said, sign this and then ing since Trump turned on
make the case for subse- the deal, without warning,
quent legislation." after it had won sweeping
The same point was ech- approval in both houses
oed by Maryland Gov. of Congress and after the
Larry Hogan, a Republican White House had assured
who's criticized Trump's Republican leaders that
pandemic response and Trump would support it.
his efforts to undo the elec- Instead, he assailed the
tion results. "I just gave up bill's plan to provide $600
guessing what he might do COVID relief checks to
next," he said. most Americans — insist-
Republican Rep. Adam ing it should be $2,000, and
Kinzinger of Illinois said too took issue with spending in-
much is at stake for Trump cluded in an attached $1.4
to "play this old switcheroo trillion government funding
game." bill to keep the federal gov-
"I don't get the point," he ernment operating through
said. "I don't understand September.
what's being done, why, And already, his foot-drag-
unless it's just to create cha- ging has had consequenc-
os and show power and be es, as two federal programs
upset because you lost the providing unemployment
election." aid expired Saturday.
Trump, who spent much of Lauren Bauer of the Brook-
Sunday at his West Palm ings Institution had calcu-
Beach golf course, has lated that at least 11 mil-
given no indication that lion people would lose aid
he plans to sign the bill as immediately as a result of
he spends the last days of Trump's failure to sign the
his presidency in a rage. legislation; millions more
Indeed, his dissatisfaction would exhaust other unem-
with the legislation seems ployment benefits within
only to have grown in re- weeks.q
