House bill to increase stimulus payments blocked in Senate

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday blocked an effort to quickly pass a measure to increase direct stimulus payments from $600 to $2,000, though the legislation could be voted on at a later time or date if McConnell so chooses.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, attempted to pass the change to the omnibus spending bill through a unanimous consent request on the Senate floor, but any senator can halt passage of legislation that way. McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, objected to the request.

The House passed the increase to stimulus payments on Monday with wide bipartisan support. Democratic leaders have cited President Donald Trump’s criticism of the $600 payments as too low and the GOP President’s push to increase the stimulus checks in their effort to pass the change through the Senate.

The measure could be scheduled for another vote in the Senate at a later date. What McConnell will do remains unclear as of Tuesday evening, though the Kentucky Republican did make moves that offer insight into where he may take the process. McConnell introduced legislation Tuesday to combine two additional demands from Trump to the expansion of direct stimulus payments, raising Democratic concern the pathway for expanded stimulus payments would soon be short-circuited.

While the move doesn’t guarantee McConnell will bring the bill up for a vote, it provides a substantive option should time — and the political winds — press the chamber in that direction. It’s also one that would be all but certain to fail to garner the votes for passage.