Missouri senators Blunt and Hawley divided after KC area GOP reps buck Trump on major bills
As President Donald Trump winds down his presidency, he faces the prospect of his first veto override and uncertainty about whether Congress will heed his call to increase direct COVID-19 aid to individuals.
The GOP-controlled U.S. Senate is the only thing keeping Trump from putting his signature on a bill increasing stimulus checks from $600 to $2,000 after the Democratic-controlled U.S. House approved the legislation by a vote of 275 to 134 Monday evening.
“With support from the President, two-thirds of the House of Representatives, and every Democrat in the Senate, there is no excuse for the Senate Majority Leader to block this critical legislation from getting a vote on the Senate Floor,” said Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, a Democrat whose Missouri district includes Kansas City’s urban core.
Missouri’s two Republican senators are on opposite sides of the issue.
Sen. Josh Hawley, who has repeatedly pushed for an increase in direct aid, called Tuesday for the GOP-controlled Senate to quickly pass the bill and send it to the president’s desk.
“Working Americans have borne the brunt of this pandemic. They’ve been hammered, through no fault of their own. They deserve $2000 in #covid relief — a fraction of what the banks & big business got. Let’s vote now,” Hawley said on Twitter Tuesday morning.
The measure to increase direct aid is widely supported by Democrats, but only a handful of Senate Republicans have voiced support and it’s unclear whether enough Republicans will cross party lines in order to force a vote. Many GOP lawmakers are wary of enlarging the price tag for COVID-19 aid after passing a $900 billion relief bill earlier this month.
Hawley’s Missouri colleague, Sen. Roy Blunt, the No. 4 Republican in the Senate, does not support the increase, his office said Tuesday afternoon.
“Senator Blunt believes financial relief should be targeted toward people who have lost their jobs or lost income because of the pandemic. He does not support a blanket increase in direct payments that does not take those factors into account,” Blunt spokeswoman Katie Boyd said in an email.
Neither of Kansas’ GOP senators, Jerry Moran nor Pat Roberts, who is retiring at the end of the week, commented on whether they would support the measure.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, on Tuesday blocked an attempt by Senate Democrats to pass the bill.
The standoff comes as the Senate prepares to hold a vote to override Trump’s veto of the National Defense Authorization Act, the annual bill to fund the U.S. military.
This year’s NDAA has wide bipartisan support and would provide soldiers with a 3% pay raise. Trump had vetoed the legislation because of a provision that requires 10 military bases named after Confederate officers to change their names.
Hawley said on Twitter Tuesday that he will not consent to holding an override vote until the Senate holds a vote on the bill to increase the level of stimulus aid to individuals. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, has made a similar pledge.
Hawley was among a handful of senators to vote against the defense funding bill earlier this month prior to Trump’s veto and he has partnered with Sanders in recent weeks on efforts to increase direct aid.
McConnell has floated pairing the COVID-19 legislation with two of Trump’s other demands to repeal a 1996 law that shields social media companies from liability and to investigate unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud in the presidential election.
Adding these measures to the direct payments bill would make it unpalatable to Democrats and put the Senate’s version in conflict with the House, which ensures the legislation fails to move forward before the current congressional session ends this weekend.
Trump has limited leverage over lawmakers to force a vote during the final weeks of his presidency.
President-elect Joe Biden supports the proposal to increase aid, but if it doesn’t pass during the current Congress Biden could have difficulty getting the Senate to pass the bill when he takes office in January unless Democrats win the two runoff Senate races in Georgia.
The House would have to pass the legislation again if the Senate does not approve the legislation in its current form by Sunday when the current session of Congress ends and new lawmakers take their seats for the new session.
The House acted on both the veto override and the proposal to increase COVID-19 aid Monday evening, passing both measures with two-thirds majorities. Cleaver and fellow Kansas City area Democratic Rep. Sharice Davids supported both pieces of legislation.
Several GOP members from the Kansas City region joined Democrats in overriding Trump’s veto of the defense spending bill, an embarrassing rebuke of the president during his final weeks in office.
Rep. Vicky Hartzler, a Missouri Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, pointed to the projects at Fort Leonard Wood and Whiteman Air Force Base that would be funded by the bill.
“This NDAA supports Missouri military construction projects, Missouri-made aircraft and munitions, and builds on the progress we’ve made in rebuilding our military readiness after years of neglect,” Hartzler said in a statement.
Other Republicans from the region who joined Hartzler in backing the veto override include Missouri Reps. Sam Graves, Ann Wagner and Blaine Luetkemeyer, all of whom signed onto an amicus brief in support of an unsuccessful Texas-led lawsuit that sought to overturn President-elect Joe Biden’s victory over Trump.
Hartzler, Graves and Luetkemeyer defied Trump twice in one night, also voting against increasing COVID-19 aid to $2,000. Wagner supported the measure.
Rep. Jason Smith, who represents southeast Missouri, was the only Republican member from the region to side with Trump on both issues, voting against the veto override and supporting the increased payments.
Kansas GOP Senator-elect Roger Marshall, Wichita Republican Rep. Ron Estes and Springfield Republican Rep. Billy Long voted to uphold Trump’s veto, but they voted against the proposal to increase COVID-19 aid.
Estes took aim at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rather than Trump in explaining his opposition to the bill.
“Speaker Pelosi is ready to send more checks to millions of Americans who have not lost a paycheck while completely ignoring the rightful outrage from Kansans regarding the billions in unnecessary spending,” Estes said in a statement.
Trump reiterated his support for the measure early Tuesday following House passage.
“Give the people $2000, not $600. They have suffered enough!” Trump said on Twitter.
Marshall, who is in his final week in the U.S. House before moving to the Senate, declined to explain his votes. Marshall had voted in favor of the NDAA earlier this month before upholding Trump’s veto.
Outgoing Topeka Republican Rep. Steve Watkins, the only GOP House member from the region not to sign onto the lawsuits seeking to overturn the election, did not vote on either bill.
Cleaver has pushed for increased aid for months, signing onto a proposal in March to issue $2,000 checks to individuals each month of the pandemic.
The legislation passed by the House Monday will provide a one-time payment. Cleaver predicted more aid will be needed in the future.
“For months now, my Democratic colleagues in Congress have pushed for larger survival checks for working class Americans who have been devastated by the economic impact of a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic. Despite previous objections from congressional Republicans, it appears the holiday spirit has rubbed off on my colleagues across the aisle,” Cleaver said in a statement after 44 Republicans crossed party lines to back the bill.
