Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) went to the Senate floor to argue for sending Americans $2,000 stimulus checks armed with the words of an “unlikely ally” — President Donald Trump.
During a speech on the Senate floor on Wednesday, Sanders brought a poster that featured a tweet from Trump printed on it.
“We have a very unlikely ally in President Trump,” Sanders said. “Nobody here has disagreed with Trump more times than I have. And yet, here is what the leader of the Republican Party says. He says, ‘$2,000 ASAP.'”
He added, “So even on this issue, amazingly enough, the president of the United States is right.”
Watch the video below:
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT): “We have a very unlikely ally in President Trump … amazingly enough, the president of the United States is right.” pic.twitter.com/8ndbdXKihN
— The Recount (@therecount) December 30, 2020
On December 22, Trump threatened not to sign a roughly $900 billion COVID-19 relief package unless Congress revised it to send Americans $2,000 stimulus checks.
While Democrats applauded Trump’s demand and put forth a stand-alone bill to increase the stimulus checks in the relief package from $600 to $2,000, Republicans have been divided on the issue.
The House passed the stand-alone bill on Monday night, largely dependent on Democratic votes, as IJR reported.
However, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) blocked an attempt to pass that bill. Instead, he introduced his own legislation that would increase the stimulus checks, repeal Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, and review election integrity.
While Trump has been pushing for the Senate to act quickly to pass a bill to increase stimulus checks, McConnell does not appear to be too keen on the idea.
“The Senate is not going to be bullied into rushing out more borrowed money into the hands of Democrat rich friends who don’t need the help,” he said on Wednesday.
He added, “We just approved almost a trillion dollars in aid a few days ago. It struck a balance between broad support for all kinds of households. And a lot more targeted relief for those who need help the most. We’re going to stay smart. We’re going to stay focused. And we’re going to continue delivering on the needs for our nation.”
