McConnell: The Senate Will Not Be ‘Bullied’ Into ‘Rushing Out More Borrowed Money’ in $2,000 Stimulus Checks

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is pouring cold water on the idea of the Senate passing a stand-alone bill to send Americans $2,000 stimulus checks as Congressional Democrats are ramping up pressure for their Republican colleagues to do so.

President Donald Trump has taken to Twitter to pressure the Republican-controlled Senate to increase the amount of the stimulus checks to help Americans suffering financially due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, during a speech on the Senate floor on Wednesday, McConnell claimed a Democrat-crafted stand-alone bill to increase stimulus checks from $600 to $2,000 “does not align” with what Trump has called for and “has no realistic path to quickly pass the Senate.”

He went on to note that Trump recently signed the second-largest relief bill in American history — despite his displeasure with the size of the $600 stimulus checks in it.

“To ensure the president was comfortable signing the bill into law, the Senate committed to beginning one process that would combine three of the president’s priorities: Larger direct checks, a repeal of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, and further efforts to review the integrity of our democracy.”