McConnell Rebuffs Trump, Democrats by Blocking $2,000 Checks

  • Democrats seek unanimous support for House-passed bill
  • President says failure to act a ‘death wish’ by Republicans
Watch: Hopes for higher $2,000 relief checks for American households stumbled in the Senate. (Source: Bloomberg)
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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday blocked an attempt by Democrats to force quick action increasing direct stimulus payments to $2,000 as President Donald Trump warned that failing to act now amounted to a “death wish” by Republicans.

McConnell objected to a motion by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to approve by unanimous consent a stimulus-checks bill that passed the House on Monday. He also blocked a motion by Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont to vote on the stimulus checks immediately after the Senate votes on overriding Trump’s veto of a key defense policy bill.