GOP Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler – who act as Trump loyalists – have touted the bill, which they both voted for. Perdue
launched ads the morning after the bill passed, he told Georgians he had “ delivered ” billions of dollars in Covid relief and direct checks to those in need, which his Democratic opponent, Jon Ossoff, is now asking to be dropped because Trump’s has not signed legislation.
Instead, Trump continues to complain about the bill, creating uncertainty for the 12 million Americans on the verge of losing unemployment benefits. Perdue and Loeffler have yet to say whether they agree with the president, who has called for direct payments of $ 2,000, instead of $ 600, into the bill.
Perdue has not even responded to the president’s call for more checks to be carried out, despite repeated questions to his campaign and official office. Now Ossoff is trying to pressure the senator to take a stand. On Saturday, Ossoff’s campaign sent a letter to Atlanta television stations urging them to remove Perdue’s ad praising the passing of the emergency relief bill. The Ossoff campaign argued that Perdue claiming to “bring relief” was “unquestionably untrue,” as Trump did not sign the legislation. The Democrat said he supported the bill, but even before Trump called for an increase to $ 2,000 payments, he called the $ 600 a “joke.”
The Perdue campaign did not respond to CNN’s questions about the status of their ad on Saturday, and they again ignored questions about where the senator stands on Trump’s calls to amend the bill.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Loeffler said she would be open to the idea of bigger checks, but argued that other parts of the package would need to be cut to cover costs.
“I am certainly in favor of redirecting all wasteful spending to be very focused on families and businesses that have been affected by this virus through no fault of their own,” Loeffler said.
Trump’s mixed signals on the emergency bill are just one example of how his erratic behavior during the waning days of his presidency interrupts the careful reporting that Republicans try to make as they fight to hold these two seats and control the majority. in the United States Senate.
Trump last week vetoed the National Defense Authorization Act, the legislation both Loeffler and Perdue backed, establishing his presidency’s first possible veto. Trump also continues to undermine the voting system in Georgia, relentlessly attacking the Republican leaders who organized the November elections in the state, which he lost to President-elect Joe Biden. His rhetoric has left the GOP in a difficult place to beg its supporters to come out and vote in the two run-offs on January 5, while at the same time nurturing his baseless claims that the voting system there is rife with fraud.
