McConnell's release on Trump signing stimulus refuses to commit to larger relief checks
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) hasn't said a word for several days as President Donald Trump refused to sign the COVID-19 stimulus and omnibus spending bill. Trump said that he has negotiated that he will sign the bill on the agreement that there would be a vote on expanding the $600 checks to $2,000 checks.
In McConnell's statement, however, there was no mention of that, CNN's Dana Bash explained reviewing the release.
Trump's statement made it clear that the deal he made with McConnell would include that vote. So did Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who said that there would be a vote on additional funds but didn't specify the amount.
But that would mean McConnell would have to hold the vote before Jan. 3, when the final day of the congressional session is. There's also a problem for Republicans in the House because Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) would have to pass the legislation with a suspension of the rules. That requires a two-thirds majority in the House, which would include Republicans.
That puts Republicans between a rock and a hard place. If there aren't enough Republicans to support the bill in the House, then the GOP will be blamed for the meager $600 checks when Americans need more. If the House passes the bill and it's sent to the GOP-led Senate and Republicans vote down the bill, the GOP will be blamed for denying Americans the additional funding Trump said was needed. The only win for McConnell is to ignore the bill and refuse to hold a vote.
Such a move would make the best case yet for why Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue (R-GA) should be voted out of office.
See CNN's Dana Bash discussing the political predicament below:
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