Washington state lawmakers support Trump push for $2,000 aid checks
Dec 23, 2020, 2:40 PM | Updated: Oct 2, 2024, 8:59 pm
Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
(Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Shortly after Congress approved a COVID aid package that included $600 direct payments to qualifying Americans, President Trump pressed lawmakers to increase that amount to $2,000 a person. Washington state’s own Congressional delegation expressed support for that plan Tuesday and Wednesday.
Inslee: COVID relief package ‘can only be considered a down-payment’
Trump’s push for $2,000 direct payments to qualifying Americans comes in the 11th hour of both his presidency and the year, blindsiding Republicans in the Senate and House who had long advocated for a significantly smaller amount.
Despite opposition within his own party, Trump labeled the $600 direct payments approved by lawmakers “ridiculously low,” petitioning Congress to amend the bill in a video posted to Twitter Tuesday night. That was soon met with support by Democrats, including Washington Senator Patty Murray and Rep. Pramila Jayapal.
“$600 was never going to be enough for people to withstand this crisis,” Rep. Jayapal said. “It’s time to send out $2,000 survival checks as quickly as possible — and make them recurring.”
Let's pass $2,000 survival checks that put money directly in people's pockets.
— Rep. Pramila Jayapal (@RepJayapal) December 23, 2020
“If the President can get (Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell) and his party on board, we can get this done. And we absolutely should,” Sen. Murray agreed.
Other Washington state leaders had previously criticized the original aid package with $600 payments as insufficient to meet the needs of struggling Americans. That included Gov. Jay Inslee, who stated that it could “only be considered a down-payment on the relief needed to fully recover from this pandemic.”
Notably, Trump did not directly threaten to veto the recently-passed legislation outright, but with the president spending the holidays away from the White House at his Mar-a-Lago property, the aid package’s fate remains unclear.
State boosts program to help people with COVID
Other prominent Congressional Democrats have similarly voiced support for $2,000 direct payments, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, and more.
“Democrats are ready to bring this to the Floor this week by unanimous consent,” Rep. Pelosi said Tuesday. “Let’s do it!”
According to a report from CNBC, House Democrats hope to pass a standalone bill for $2,000 direct payments on Thursday, despite uncertainty surrounding whether Republicans will take it up in the Senate.
