Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO), told reporters on Thursday that he "has no idea what [Trump] plans to do" regarding coronvirus relief, but it is unlikely that GOP lawmakers would agree to the $2,000 stimulus checks demanded by the US president.
"It took us a long time to get to where we are. I think reopening that bill would be a mistake," remarked Blunt, the No. 4 member of Republican leadership, as reported by The Hill.
"The best way out of this is for the president to sign the bill, and I still hope that's what he decides."
Blunt's comments come as House Republicans rejected House Democrats' efforts to pass a bill that would raise the provided COVID relief stimulus checks from $600 to $2,000 per eligible individual.
After months of negotiations, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle believed the US president was on board with Congress' combined $2.3 trillion COVID-19 relief and omnibus spending package.
“House and Senate Democrats have repeatedly fought for bigger checks for the American people, which House and Senate Republicans have repeatedly rejected – first, during our negotiations when they said that they would not go above $600 and now, with this act of callousness on the Floor,” Pelosi said Thursday.
Trump's last-minute call for the checks to amount to $2,000 has some lawmakers questioning the president's intent.
“[Trump] doesn't give a damn about people,” Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) told reporters, Politico reported. “He sowed more fear. He threw kerosene on a fire.”
What further complicates the issue is the fact that Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin was working with Congress on the $2.3 trillion package, which led lawmakers to believe Trump would approve it.
"We are considering our options and what steps we will take. And I will tell you that there are continuing discussions going on between the Speaker and the secretary of the Treasury and the administration," House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said during a Thursday morning news conference, The Hill reported.
"He is the person with whom we have to talk," Hoyer said of the US president.