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In a busy night in the Capitol, the House voted Monday to approve increasing the amount of the direct checks going out to many Americans from $600 to $2000.
After calling the Covid relief bill a disgrace and signaling he may not sign it, President Trump signed the bill that includes the $600 payments on Sunday but continued to insist the amount was too small. Democrats were quick to rally around the President on this, and after the House GOP rejected a unanimous consent voice vote last week, a floor vote was scheduled for Monday.
The House passed the legislation 275-134, with 44 Republicans joining all but two Democrats to approve the bill. The legislation increases the amount of the checks to $2,000, up from $600 per adult and per child for individuals with adjusted gross incomes under $75,000.
The bill now heads to the Senate, where it is uncertain if it can gain the 60 votes needed to pass.
Also, on Monday night, the House voted to override the President’s veto of a $740 billion defense bill.
The President followed through on his threats to veto the National Defense Authorization Act after provisions related to allowing the renaming of bases named after Confederate leaders were included. Mr. Trump also wanted language that would have “terminated” Section 230, a law that protects internet platforms from the content published on their sites.
The bill was initially passed with a veto-proof majority, and the override passed with similar margins. The override vote required a two-thirds supermajority and passed 322-87. This bill will also now head to the Senate, but unlike the increase in relief payments, the override vote is almost sure to garner enough support to make it through.
It would be the first override of Mr. Trump’s tenure.
