IT: 💸 GOP blocks Trump demand for $2000 stimulus checks, and... Do you support Trump pardoning Manafort, Stone, Kushner?

Welcome to Christmas Eve 2020, Dashers to Rudolphs...

House Republicans on Thursday blocked a Democratic attempt to pass $2,000 direct payments to Americans, which Trump had demanded the previous day.

President Trump on Tuesday tweeted a video of remarks he delivered from the White House in which he called for Congress to increase the size of stimulus checks in the coronavirus relief bill and remove items from the FY2021 spending package that passed both chambers on Monday.

“I am asking Congress to amend this bill and increase the ridiculously low $600 to $2,000 or $4,000 for a couple. I am also asking Congress to immediately get rid of the wasteful and unnecessary items from this legislation..."

The omnibus spending and coronavirus relief package, approved on veto-proof majorities in Congress earlier this week, provides $600 for every adult and child for individuals earning less than $75,000 per year, at which point the amount decreases until it phases out entirely for individuals earning over $99,000. 

Democrats vowed that their effort to increase direct payments to $2,000 isn't over:

"On Monday [December 28], I will bring the House back to session where we will hold a recorded vote on our stand-alone bill to increase economic impact payments to $2,000. To vote against this bill is to deny the financial hardship that families face and to deny them the relief they need," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said in a statement.

Should Congress increase the size of stimulus checks?

Trump Pardons Allies

Manafort and Stone were prosecuted in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into election interference in the 2016 election.

Charles Kushner had been prosecuted - by then-U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Chris Christie - for tax evasion, witness tampering, and illegal campaign contributions.

The pardons come one day after Trump granted full pardons to 15 individuals and commuted part or all of the sentences of an additional five. The Tuesday pardons included former campaign aide George Papadopoulos, former U.S. congressman Chris Collins, and four Blackwater guards involved in an Iraq massacre that killed civilians.

Do you support Trump's pardons?

Trump Vetoes Defense Bill

President Trump on Wednesday followed through with his threat to veto the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2021, which will prompt votes by the House and Senate to override the veto next week.

Among the reasons Trump cited for the veto was a lack of reforms to liability protections for social media companies; a requirement that military bases named after Confederates be renamed; and restrictions on the president’s ability to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, Germany, and South Korea.

Congressional leaders have already indicated that lawmakers will return next week for votes to override the veto. By law, the bill goes back to the chamber of origin first, and the House will hold its override vote on Monday, December 28th, while the Senate will follow suit the next day.

Should Congress override Trump’s veto of the NDAA?

And, in the End…

Punch that milk for National Egg Nog Day.

The history of this Christmas treat is debated, but the drink seems to have come from a British libation called "posset," which was popular from medieval times until the 19th century. Posset was crafted from hot milk, wine or ale, and, sometimes, eggs.

Stay warm and cozy and COVID free tonight, Santa,

—Josh Herman

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