President Trump announced that he would be sending back the $900 billion stimulus bill to Congress in a video on Twitter Tuesday.
In the video, he called the bill, “a disgrace” and that more money was going to non-COVID related issues, including foreign countries, over American citizens and businesses.
“I’m asking Congress to amend this bill and increase the ridiculously low $600 to $2,000 or $4,000 per couple,” Trump said. “I’m also asking Congress to immediately get rid of the wasteful and unnecessary items in this legislation or to send me a suitable bill.”
Trump did not explicitly threaten to veto the bill, but said he was dissatisfied with its final state.
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) said he supported the request from the President for higher stimulus checks.
“I’ve been calling for $2,000 checks since March. President Trump’s on board - so let’s get this done,” Brown tweeted Wednesday morning.
Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) has not commented about the request from the President, but said in a statement that he was “proud to have been involved in the effort to bring both parties together to focus on where we had common ground, rather than taking partisan positions that had gotten us nowhere for months.”
The U.S. Senate voted 91-7 just before midnight Monday to approve a $900 billion COVID-19 stimulus package and accompanying $1.4 trillion omnibus spending bill.
Brown and Portman have not said whether they would support removing any of the “wasteful and unnecessary items” Trump said were part of the bill.
News Center 7 will update this story as we learn more.