After throwing a grenade threatening to blow up Covid’s huge relief bill and government funding and force the government to shut down amid pandemics, Donald Trump was golfing on Christmas for a second straight day .
Failure to agree on the bill could result in the denial of checks to millions of Americans about to go.
Trump had no events on his public agenda on the first day of his winter vacation Thursday, but he spoke to his Palm Beach golf club, where he saw CNN cameras on the links.
Reporters were not given any information about his schedule for the day, but he said, “As the holiday season approaches, President Trump will continue to work tirelessly for the people of America. His schedule includes many meetings and calls. “
Trump’s departure came as Washington was still reeling about the surprise, his 11-hour request that an end-of-year spending bill that transport directors spent months negotiate to give Covid $ 2,000 relief checks to the majority. Americans – far more than his own party $ 600 agreed with. The idea was swiftly rejected by a House Republican in a rare Christmas Eve session, leaving the proposal in limbo.
The bipartisan compromise was seen as a deal made and had received widespread approval in the House and Senate this week after the White House confirmed to GOP leaders that Trump backed two. If Trump refuses to sign the treaty, which is tied to a $ 1.4tn government funding bill, it will halt federal government closures, as well as delay aid reviews and suspend unemployment benefits and protections clearance in the middle of the most severe area of the pandemic.
It appeared to be hostility towards the Republican Congress from a president who has been fomenting an attack on his Nov. 3 loss to President Joe Biden and trying to new schemes, which are increasingly intimidating, seek to reverse the results of a Democratic election. Relatives like his lawyer, former mayor of New York, Rudy Giuliani, have accompanied the president to Florida aboard Air Force One.
Trump’s level has been aimed, in part, at Republicans in Congress who he believes have not been supportive enough of his bid to bequeath Biden’s victory by lobbying unfounded claims for fraud vote before Congress meets to decide the election college votes on Jan. 6.
Meanwhile, the country is still reeling as the coronavirus spreads, with higher infections and hospitals and more than 327,000 now dead. And millions face the prospect of spending the holidays alone or struggling to make ends meet without adequate income, food or shelter as a result of the economic tax of pandemic.
Meanwhile, Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and finance secretary Steven Mnuchin have been pushing for end-of-year legislation to try to prevent closure. Democrats will remind housing lawmakers to Washington for a vote Monday on Trump’s $ 2,000 proposal, even though he would likely die in the GOP-controlled Senate. They are also considering a vote Monday on a stadgap step to at least prevent a federal closure and keep the government going until Biden is established on January 20th.
In addition to the relief reviews, Covid’s bill passed last year without earning an additional $ 300-a-week, would bring a new round of subsidies to hardcore businesses, restaurants and theaters and money to schools, and would provide funding for provider health care and to help roll out the Covid vaccine.