Rep. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Doubles Down On Decision To Block $2,000 Stimulus Check Payments; Calls $2,000 Checks ‘Socialism For The Rich’

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he wouldn’t change his mind about giving the American people $2,000.

McConnell, 78, pretty much said we can all give it a rest with the stimulus checks, saying he isn’t budging on his decision to only give Americans $600 after only one stimulus check since the global pandemic. On Thursday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said that Democrats would allow for votes limiting a liability shield for tech companies and establishing a commission to look into the 2020 election if the Republican Party agreed to hold a separate up-or-down vote on sending $2,000 checks to most Americans, Tucker Higgins of CNBC writes.

“Just give us a vote on the House-passed bill, and we can vote on whatever right-wing conspiracy theory you like,” the New York Democrat said on the Senate floor, the outlet reports. His words came after McConnell called $2,000 stimulus checks “socialism for the rich.” In addition, McConnell refused to hold a separate vote on the checks, and instead tied together with the legislation that would repeal Section 230 and create a commission to investigate alleged claims of meddling in the 2020 presidential election.

Donald Trump wants to move forward with the actions following his signing of the $900 billion Covid-19 relief package on Sunday, Higgins reports. On Monday, the House of Representatives, led by Dems, passed the $2,000 checks legislation. “Let’s be very clear: There is one way, and only one way, to pass $2,000 checks before the end of the year. And that’s to pass the House bill. It’s the only way to get the American people the checks they need and deserve,” Schumer said.

On Thursday, McConnell said the rich and poor were affected differently by the Covid-19 pandemic. “The data show that many upper-middle-class Americans have kept their jobs, worked remotely, and remained totally financially comfortable,” McConnell said. “We do not need to let the speaker of the House do socialism for rich people.”