(CNN) — He Surprise video of President Donald Trump released Tuesday night in which he voices his grievances about the $ 900 billion coronavirus relief bill, which was painstakingly negotiated, immediately raised the specter of a government shutdown and economic turmoil at a time when help is desperately sought for millions of Americans.
The president did not explicitly threaten to veto the bill, and the White House said earlier in the evening it would sign it. However, in the video posted on Twitter, he added a layer of confusion to a delicate process that includes not only economic relief from COVID-19, but a US $ 1.4 trillion global spending package that funds the federal government.
First, some facts
The White House explicitly told Senate Republicans weeks ago that it supported the pursuit of a blanket compendium – 12 appropriation bills tied together in one large package – and those negotiations went on for weeks.
The White House was fully aware of what was in the bill and what was agreed to. However, White House officials acknowledged Tuesday night that Trump had not received a detailed report on the package prior to its approval.
Most of the elements that the president mentioned as problematic in his video Tuesday night were not from the part of the economic stimulus package for COVID-19. They were from the compendium. Most of those points, if not all, were similar to points in previous spending packages that Trump has signed.
In particular, two people involved in the affair say the president is excited about the foreign aid in the package. Again, that has been a part of every expense package you’ve ever signed up for. However, Trump was partly angered by conservative media commentators who complained about the aid, according to people familiar with the matter.
What does Congress say about Trump’s attempts to change the economic stimulus agreement?
As for your request to “amend” the bill, well, both houses have passed the legislation. And, at this point, aides from both sides say there is no plan to make any move to accept the president’s request for the authorized package. The first comment is that the two parties could just ignore the situation and see if it calms down. The government is operating under a rolling seven-day resolution, so there is some time. The actual deadline is December 28.
“Maybe he will obsess over something else and forget about this whole episode,” a senior Democratic aide told CNN. Or maybe I’ll just blow it up. A perfect coda for his time in office, “he said.
However, at the moment the attendees on both sides are mostly stunned.
“It’s a strange thing that doesn’t surprise me at all because of course he would do this, but also a bit stunned because he’s been so preoccupied with everything else that this seemed to be in a good place,” a Republican aide from high rank.
Democrats jump on Trump’s sayings on economic stimulus
Multiple Republican aides and senators, along with many White House officials, told CNN they had no warning that a change from the president against the package was coming. White House officials had said in the days leading up to approval, and afterwards, that Trump intended to sign.
Democrats, however, have taken advantage of the president’s hitting an easy fastball. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will act Thursday to pass legislation for direct payments of $ 2,000 by unanimous consent.
“Republicans repeatedly refused to say how much the president wanted for direct checks,” Pelosi tweeted Tuesday night. “Finally the president accepted US $ 2,000. Democrats are ready to discuss this this week by unanimous consent. Let’s do it! ”He added.
This option will almost certainly be blocked. It only takes one member to block a unanimous consent request, and there are many Republicans who oppose direct payments of that size. But it will show an immediate split between Republicans and Trump at a time when the party is in the midst of a simmering war and just days before crucial Georgia Senate second round elections.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer asked Trump to sign the approved package this week and then work with Congress to expand direct payments.
Trump has long sought larger direct payments
Trump has spoken with his aides for several weeks about the size of the direct payments, according to two officials who spoke with him. The $ 600 level was actually the proposal of his Secretary of the Treasury, Steven Mnuchin, his lead negotiator on this entire deal, both for COVID-19 relief and overall spending. Mnuchin was on television Tuesday promoting the deal. While Trump had advocated for higher payments, he never explicitly threatened to torpedo the bill if they were not included, a person familiar with the matter said.
Finally: Trump could have entered the stimulus talks at any time, and it certainly would have had a major effect. It just didn’t. Tweeted. From time to time he made comments in meetings. Mnuchin and the director of the National Economic Council, Larry Kudlow, briefed him on the talks, but he never got directly involved. He was, at best, a passive player, and most of the time completely absent, according to senators and assistants from both games. Trump has been almost exclusively obsessed with his efforts to reverse the election result, paying attention to little else in recent weeks.
Another note: the package passed with a veto-proof majority. However, it is unclear what that means if Trump decides to go to an extreme. Republicans in the House of Representatives tend to move wherever Trump moves, so the original vote count may not be operational. However, it is too early for that. Right now, everyone is in wait and see what happens to the economic stimulus and the package after Trump’s remarks.
CNN’s Kevin Liptak contributed to this report.
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