Washington Post economics reporter Jeff Stein said Wednesday that the battle over upping the direct payments in the COVID-19 relief package to $2,000 is “putting tremendous pressure” and “splintering” the Republican caucus.
On Hill.TV’s “Rising,” Stein described how Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is “in this pickle” as some Republicans, such as Sens. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) and David Perdue (R-Ga.), have followed President Trump and pushed for higher checks, while others are still uneasy about spending more than $1 trillion on a relief bill.
“This fascinating thing is happening where these Georgia Republican senators, conservative lawmakers, who are up for reelecion, feel that for their own political survival, they need to say that they support these $2,000 checks,” Stein said.
“And it’s putting tremendous pressure and splintering the Republican caucus in really profounding, new ways around an enormous transfer of wealth in this country,” he added.
Stein continued by saying McConnell is having to manage the different factions on the checks “in a way that people who are supportive of larger welfare states really could not have imagined before the pandemic.”
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