TAMPA (WFLA/NewsNation Now) – President Trump announced on Tuesday night called on Congress to amend the current COVID-19 relief bill, saying he wants $600 direct payments to be increased to $2,000.
Trump called the $900 billion Covid relief bill passed by Congress an unsuitable “disgrace” until bigger direct payments are made to individuals and families.
“Among the more than 5,000 pages in this bill, which nobody in Congress has read because of its length and complexity, it’s called the COVID Relief Bill, but it has almost nothing to do with COVID,” Trump said.
Trump listed several overseas spending measures he claimed were contained in the bill while highlighting the struggles facing small business owners.
“Congress found [plenty of money for foreign countries, lobbyists, and special interests while sending the bare minimum to the American people who need it,” Trump said.
He concluded the message by calling on Congress to increase the amount of the direct payments to $2,000 — or $4,000 for a couple — to “immediately get rid of the wasteful and unnecessary items from this legislation.”
Trump also suggested that his administration might be the “next administration,” despite his loss to President-elect Joe Biden. Trump added that if Congress doesn’t deliver the relief package he wants, it will be left to the next administration which he hinted could be his.
“And maybe that administration will be me, and we will get it done,” he said.
The president’s tweet, which included a video of him discussing what he considers the bill’s many flaws, came less than 24 hours after the Senate passed the measure.
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