After creating a political storm in Washington over negotiations around the $ 900 billion economic relief package, President Donald Trump spent Christmas Eve in Florida playing golf and calling on Republican congressmen for not supporting his allegations about an alleged electoral fraud, according to The Associated Press.
In an unusual session on Christmas Eve, Democrats made a unanimous request for consent for Trump's proposed relief package, which includes the $ 2,000 check, to go to the Senate for review.
However, Republicans blocked the petition and left the bill in limbo.
Meanwhile, the president traveled to his residence in Mar-A-Lago and played golf at his club in Palm Beach.
The White House reported that, during his vacation, Trump will continue to "work tirelessly for the American people" and that he would be busy with meetings and calls.
Trump has
until December 28
to sign the economic relief plan.
Failure to do so could lead to negotiations until President-elect Joe Biden's arrival on January 20, 2021.
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Since posting a video on Twitter suggesting he will not sign the relief package agreed to by Congress, which calls for a second round of checks for $ 600, Trump has been silent on the issue.
According to Business Insider, he has not informed his close allies whether he will veto the deal, which has increased
uncertainty
.
Before going to Florida on vacation, Trump met for an hour with Vice President Mike Pence, whom he claimed not to have done enough to change the election results, according to CNN.
On his Twitter account, he shared a tweet that
urges the vice president to prevent the Electoral College from ratifying the results
of the elections on January 6.
Outgoing President Donald Trump leaves the White House on December 23 with First Lady Melania Trump.The Washington Post via Getty Images / The Washington Post via Getty Im
Once in Florida, the president voiced his anger at Republicans in Congress, whom he singled out for
not
sufficiently
supporting
his battle to delegitimize President-elect Joe Biden, or his accusations of alleged electoral fraud.
“At a meeting in Florida today, everyone was wondering why Republicans aren't up in arms and fighting because Democrats stole the rigged presidential election.
Especially in the Senate, they said, where you helped 8 senators win their electoral races.
How quickly they forget! ”, He wrote on his Twitter account.
“I saved at least 8 Republican senators, including Mitch (McConnell), from losing in the last rigged election (for president).
Now (almost everyone) sits and watches me fight a corrupt and ruthless enemy, the Democrats of the Radical Left.
I will never forget!".
The stimulus check, in limbo
So far, there is no certainty if there will be a second round of stimulus checks for the coronavirus pandemic.
After Republicans blocked the proposal supported by Trump and the Democrats, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi asked the president to
intervene so that her party unblocks the agreement
.
“On Monday, I will take the House back to session where we will vote on our independent bill to increase the economic impact payments to $ 2,000.
To vote against this bill is to deny the economic hardships families face and deny them the relief they need, ”he said in a statement.
US President Donald Trump's caravan arrives at Trump International Golf Club on Thursday, Dec. 24, 2020, in West Palm Beach, Florida.
"Hopefully by then the president will have signed the bipartisan and bicameral legislation to keep the government open and provide relief from the coronavirus."
Trump vetoes the bill, it could still be approved with two-thirds of the votes in the House of Representatives and the Senate.
However, congressmen from both parties
hope that the president will sign
the economic relief plan that took months to be approved by both parties.
Yes
"I think a lot of people, both within the White House and in the Republican party on Capitol Hill, as well as the Democrats, hope that he [President Trump] will calm down and just sign the bill without making a lot of noise," he told CNBC's Politico economic correspondent Ben White.
If the president signs the bill, reports indicate that the $ 600 checks could begin to be issued the first week of January.
"The need is tremendous": A Christmas Eve marked by precariousness
Dec. 24, 202002: 06
Unemployment benefits expire this Saturday, bringing a bleak Christmas to families desperate for the stimulus check.
At the end of the year, the moratoriums on evictions and payment of student debts are also expired.
Nearly eight million people have sunk into poverty since June after spending the $ 1,200 checks that the government issued to most Americans in the spring.
With information from CNN
,
The Associated Press
, Business Insider, CNBC.