McConnell puts off vote on aid, urges veto override

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday put off a vote on President Donald Trump's call to boost COVID-19 relief checks and urged the Senate to override his veto of a defense bill, in a rare challenge to his fellow Republican three weeks before Trump leaves office.

Lisa Bernhard produced this report.

SEN.

CHUCK SCHUMER: "$600 nope, it's not enough.

So in a moment, I will move to have the Senate take up the House bill to increase that number to $2000." Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Tuesday pushed for an immediate vote in the chamber to boost COVID relief payments to Americans, but was rebuked by Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

McConnell was vague on when, or if, the Senate would take up the House bill, passed one day earlier, that increases relief checks from $600 to $2000 as requested by President Trump.

McConnell also urged the Senate to override the President’s veto of a $740 billion defense policy bill, saying the funding plan for the U.S. military could not be allowed to fail.

SEN.

MITCH MCCONNELL: "For the brave men and women of the United States armed forces, failure is simply not an option.

So when it's our turn in Congress to have their backs, failure is not an option either.” It was a rare one-two punch to the outgoing president from McConnell, a Trump loyalist over the past 4 years, and comes just three weeks before Trump leaves office.

In a tweet storm just before the Senate session started, Trump called Republican leaders "weak and tired" for passing the defense spending bill, adding, "WE NEED NEW & ENERGETIC REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP." Trump is angry at members of his own party for not fully backing his false claims of fraud in his November election loss to President-elect Joe Biden - as well as their efforts to override a presidential veto for the first time since he took office in 2016, and their opposition to bigger aid checks.

SEN.

CHUCK SCHUMER: "I don't want to hear it that it costs too much to help working families get a check when they are struggling." Final passage of the COVID-19 aid increase in the Senate would require 60 votes including the backing of a dozen Republicans.

With a new Congress due to be sworn into office on Sunday, lawmakers have only a short time to act on the measure.