Two more Republican senators are indicating their support for President Donald Trump’s push to increase the stimulus checks in the COVID-19 relief bill from $600 to $2,000.
During an appearance on Fox News on Tuesday morning, Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) was asked if she supports the measure. She said, “Look, the president has fought for our country from day one. He continues to fight for every single American.”
“I’ve stood by the president 100% of the time. I’m proud to do that. And I’ve said, ‘Absolutely we need to get relief to Americans now.’ And I will support that,” she added.
Watch the video below:
Kelly Loeffler says she'll support $2,000 stimulus checks in the Senate because Trump does pic.twitter.com/guedzZzRfO
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) December 29, 2020
Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) also weighed in on Tuesday in a tweet, “President [Donald Trump] is right — I support this push for $2,000 in direct relief for the American people.”
https://twitter.com/Perduesenate/status/1343943989804867585
Trump threatened not to sign the $892 billion relief bill last week as he called for Congress to increase the stimulus checks to $2,000, as IJR reported.
However, on Sunday, he relented and signed the bill, which will send out $600 stimulus checks.
The House voted 275-134 on a separate bill to increase the stimulus checks to $2,000. The bill now goes to the Senate, where its fate is uncertain.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) claimed that “every Senate Democrat is for this much-needed increase in emergency financial relief.” He also said he would “move to pass the legislation in the Senate to quickly deliver Americans with $2,000 emergency checks.”
While Democrats have applauded Trump’s push to increase the stimulus checks, Congressional Republicans are split on the matter.
Forty-four House Republicans voted for the measure, while 130 voted against it. Senate Republicans are also divided on the bill.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) added his name to the list of senators who said they would support the measure.
In a statement on Monday night, he wrote, “I agree with the President that millions of working class families are in dire need of additional relief, which is why I support $2,000 in direct payments to Americans struggling due to the pandemic.”
“I share many of my colleagues’ concern about the long-term effects of additional spending, but we cannot ignore the fact that millions of working class families across the nation are still in dire need of relief,” he added.
Perdue and Loeffler, who are facing runoff elections in Georgia to keep their seats next week, were criticized on Monday by their Democratic opponents for not stating that they support the bill.
