US parties wrangle in Congress after Trump shuns COVID stimulus bill
Democrats and Republicans in the US Congress have blocked each other’s attempts to amend a vital $2.3tn (£1.7tn) stimulus package after President Trump asked for changes.
The bill combines coronavirus economic relief with federal spending and had been agreed upon by both sides.
But Mr. Trump said one-off payments to Americans should increase from $600 to $2,000, and foreign aid should be cut.
Without the bill in force, many Americans face an uncertain Christmas.
Unemployment benefits are due to cease on Saturday if the bill is not in force, and a moratorium on evictions may not be extended.
Legislators could pass a stopgap bill by Monday to prevent a government shutdown on Tuesday but this would not include coronavirus aid and Mr. Trump must still sign it.
Meeting on Thursday in response to Mr. Trump’s intervention on Tuesday, Democrats in the House of Representatives blocked Republican attempts to cut foreign aid from the federal spending bill, while Republicans refused to allow the increase in coronavirus payments to $2,000.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, said the lower chamber would meet again on Monday to vote on the payments.
It is also due to vote on an unrelated defense spending bill, which Mr. Trump vetoed on Wednesday.
The $740bn (£549bn) bill passed Congress this month, and lawmakers could override the veto.
Mr. Trump is objecting to provisions that limit troop withdrawals from Afghanistan and Europe and remove Confederate leaders’ names from military bases.
‘Wasteful’ bill
The deadlocked package is made up of $900bn for coronavirus relief and $1.4tn federal spending. On Monday it passed the House of Representatives by 359-53 and the Senate by 92-6.
But on Tuesday Mr. Trump shocked lawmakers with his response, describing the bill in a video statement as a “disgrace” full of “wasteful” items.