Drive for $2,000 Checks Slows in Senate Despite Trump Push
- Republicans block House stimulus bill, focus on Pentagon
- Defense veto override delayed, likely completed by Sunday
Only 44 Republicans joined 231 Democrats on Monday to pass a House measure increasing the payments to $2,000.
Photographer: Ting Shen/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The prospects for boosting stimulus payments for most Americans to $2,000 are fading fast in the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate even with GOP leaders under pressure by both President Donald Trump and congressional Democrats.
The partisan clash over the payments also is entangling another piece of year-end business in the Senate -- a vote to override Trump’s veto of a crucial $740.5 billion defense policy bill. Senator Bernie Sanders is attempting to force a delay on the defense legislation unless Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell relents and allows a vote on a standalone bill on the bigger stimulus checks.