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PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) – After launching a controversial proposal that threatened to blow up a major aid package for COVID-19 and the government’s funding bill, which would mean a government shutdown amid a pandemic, Trump approved golfing on Christmas Eve in Florida.
Without agreement on the law, millions of Americans with limited resources would not receive aid controls.
Trump had not planned any public events on the first day of his winter break, although he did travel to his Palm Beach golf club, where he was seen on CNN cameras on the slopes.
The press received no details of his agenda, just a statement saying that: As the holiday season draws closer, President Trump will continue to work tirelessly for the American people. His schedule includes many meetings and phone calls “.
Trump left Washington while the city was still reeling from the unexpected last-minute demand that the year-end spending bill, negotiated for months by congressional leaders, contains $ 2,000 checks in support of most of Americans, well above the $ 600 that his own party members had accepted. The idea was quickly rejected by Republican representatives during an unusual session on Christmas Eve, leaving the proposal in limbo.
The bipartisan compromise was seen as a resolved issue, gaining wide support in the House of Representatives and the Senate this week after the White House assured Republican leaders that Trump would back it. If Trump refuses to sign the deal, which comes with a $ 1.4 trillion government spending bill, it will force a government shutdown, in addition to delaying aid problems and disrupting unemployment benefits and eviction protections, at the worst time of the day. the pandemic in the United States.
It was a final outrage to Republicans from a president who focused on denying his defeat to the elected president on Nov. 3, Joe Biden, and looking for increasingly outrageous ways to try to reverse the results of democratic elections. He was encouraged by allies such as his attorney, the former mayor of New York Rudy Giuliani, who accompanied the President to Florida aboard Air Force One.
Some of Trump’s outrage is directed against Republican congressmen, whom he believes have not supported him enough in his campaign to delegitimize Biden’s victory by defending unsubstantiated allegations of voter fraud before Congress meets on January 6 to be accountable. the votes of the Electoral College.
In Florida, Trump continued to question the results, complained to club members that his election had been stolen, and expressed frustration with the spending bill.
“At a rally in Florida today, everyone was wondering, why aren’t the Republicans outraged and fighting over the Democrats stealing the fake presidential election?” Trump tweeted after returning to his private club in Mar-a. -Lake. “Especially in the Senate, they said, where you helped 8 senators with their campaigns.”
“I WILL NEVER FORGET IT!” He wrote in another tweet.
The allegations reaffirmed concerns that Trump is torpedoing negotiations to punish lawmakers for what he sees as a lack of allegiance.
Trump has provided no credible evidence to back up his allegations about the election, which have also been refuted by a long line of authorities, from Attorney General William Barr to Republican governors, judges and local election administrators.
Meanwhile, the country continues to suffer from the spread of the coronavirus, with records of infections and hospitalizations and more than 327,000 deaths to date. And millions of people are faced with the possibility of spending the holidays alone or suffering to get by without shelter, food or adequate income because of the economic impact of the pandemic.
President and First Lady Melania Trump tweeted a pre-recorded video message wishing Americans a Merry Christmas and thanking emergency services and members of the military.
“As you know, this Christmas is different from previous years,” said the first lady, focusing on the acts of “kindness and courage” that inspired the pandemic.
Trump celebrated the start of vaccine distribution and thanked those responsible. “It’s a real Christmas wonder,” he said.
Meanwhile, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin tried to salvage their financial statements to avoid a government shutdown.
Democrats will again convene representatives in Washington on Monday to vote on Trump’s $ 2,000 proposal, although it will likely be rejected in the Senate by a Republican majority. They are also considering voting on a temporary measure on Monday to at least avoid federal shutdown and keep the government going until Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20.
In addition to the direct aid controls, the law to address COVID-19 passed in Congress would set up a temporary $ 300 per week supplement for unemployment, and award another round of grants to theaters, restaurants and other affected businesses and fund for schools, as well as money for health centers and to help distribute vaccines against COVID-19.