House Republicans block a Democratic attempt to advance $2,000 stimulus checks that Trump is pressing for
Nancy Pelosi blasted the move and said she would hold another vote on $2,000 direct payments early next week.
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- House Republicans blocked a Democratic attempt to increase the size of stimulus checks included in the latest coronavirus relief bill from $600 to $2000 on Thursday morning.
- Speaker Nancy Pelosi blasted the move in a statement.
- "If the president is serious about the $2,000 direct payments, he must call on House Republicans to end their obstruction," she said.
- Pelosi also said she would hold a recorded vote on a Democratic plan to bump the size of stimulus checks from $600 to $2,000.
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House Republicans just blocked an attempt from Democrats to pass $2,000 stimulus checks for tens of millions of Americans on Friday morning
Democrats had moved to increase the size of direct payments from $600 to $2,000.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi blasted the move in a statement on Thursday morning.
"If the president is serious about the $2,000 direct payments, he must call on House Republicans to end their obstruction," she said in a statement.
The California Democrat also said she would bring the House back into session on Monday to hold a recorded vote on legislation to increase the payments to $2,000."To vote against this bill is to deny the financial hardship that families face and to deny them the relief they need," she said.
The procedural move comes as Trump has threatened to blow up the passage of a $900 billion economic aid plan along with a $1.4 trillion spending bill to fund the government into next year. On Tuesday evening, he suggested in a video released on Twitter that he wouldn't sign the bill unless major changes were made, including increasing the size of stimulus payments from $600 per person to $2,000.
Both pieces of legislation were joined to speed up their passage during the Congressional lame-duck session.
It is unclear whether Trump will hold firm on his threat. The omnibus spending package and coronavirus relief legislation passed both chambers on Monday evening with broad support, possibly paving the way for a veto-proof majority.