10:55 p.m. ET, December 22, 2020
Republicans taken by surprise at Trump's refusal to sign Covid relief bill
From CNN's Lauren Fox and Manu Raju
The US Capitol at dawn in Washington, DC on December 21.
Oliver Contreras/Bloomberg/Getty Images
Like many of his own aides, Republicans on Capitol Hill were not given a heads up that US President Donald Trump was going to rail against the stimulus bill tonight on Twitter.
A Republican leadership aide told CNN “no” when asked if this was expected. The aide pointed out that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had negotiated this bill. He was the White House’s voice in the room, everyone assumed. Another aide said Trump seemed to be “coming unhinged.”
The President is upset about several provisions that were actually in the omnibus spending bill, not the Covid relief bill.
“It is called the Covid relief bill, but it has almost nothing to do with Covid,” Trump said on Twitter.
The omnibus spending bill that appropriates money for all the federal agencies for the rest of the fiscal year was combined with the stimulus bill, meaning there are numerous provisions unrelated to the pandemic relief that has also been voted on by Congress.
Multiple sources in Congress told CNN the President's threats would not lead to a renegotiation, given the measure was passed with big veto-proof majorities.
How this plays out is uncertain. It’s possible Trump could veto the bill, but if he waits the full 10 days, it could push it into the new Congress when the Democratic majority is smaller in the House. The bill hasn’t even been sent to the White House yet for his signature.
At the moment, the hope on the Hill is he doesn’t veto the bill since he never explicitly said he will.
Some opposition lawmakers reacted approvingly to Trump's calls for greater stimulus checks, and House Democrats will try to pass by unanimous consent on Thursday a bill to increase direct payments, though any one member can scuttle that effort.
It’s unclear what will happen when or if such a bill is blocked.
Government funding runs out on December 28.