https://spectator.org/covid-relief-trump-mcconnell/
President Trump has been deeply dissatisfied by the reluctance of the Republican establishment to support his challenges to November’s election results that he and millions of voters attribute to vote fraud. Trump has been particularly unhappy with the laissez-faire attitude of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who has discouraged GOP senators from openly backing Trump’s effort. The president had his revenge Tuesday night when he denounced the coronavirus stimulus bill that McConnell had finally finished Monday evening and hailed as a “historic rescue package to help American families through this pandemic.” Trump demanded a “suitable” bill that includes $2,000 checks for individuals and contains no wasteful spending.
If Trump refuses to sign the McConnell legislation, which includes $600 for individuals and contains all manner of special interest funding unrelated to COVID-19, the Republicans may well lose two Georgia Senate seats and control of Congress. The McConnell bill was cobbled together largely because of the January 5 Georgia runoff for two Senate seats that protect the GOP majority. Democratic candidates Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock have been selling themselves as alternatives to the GOP incumbents, Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, whom they accuse of being too abstemious to provide much needed assistance to Georgians hurt by the pandemic. Both Democrats immediately exploited the president’s criticism of the package. Ossoff put it as follows:
President Trump is, as ever, erratic and all over the place, but on this point, tonight, he’s right. Six hundred dollars is a joke. They should send $2,000 checks to the American people right now because people are hurting. And David Perdue … who opposed even the first single round of $1,200 checks … has obstructed direct relief for the last eight months, and now decided he wanted to cut it down to $600 when people can barely feed their families through no fault of their own. Congress should pass $2,000 checks.
Warnock issued this statement:
As I’ve said from the start, the Senate should have acted on this months ago and support for Georgians should have been far greater. Donald Trump is right, Congress should swiftly increase to $2,000. Once and for all Senator Loeffler should do what’s best for Georgia instead of focusing on what she can do for herself.