Trump says he wants bigger stimulus checks, threatens to not sign COVID-19 relief bill

Donald Trump.
(Image credit: Al Drago/Getty Images)

President Trump suggested on Tuesday night that he won't sign the $900 billion coronavirus relief package passed by Congress on Monday night, saying the bill is a "disgrace" and needs to be amended to include bigger stimulus checks.

The bill includes $600 stimulus checks, an idea that came from Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. In a video posted on Twitter, Trump called this amount "ridiculously low," and said the checks should be increased to $2,000. He also declared that there are "wasteful and unnecessary items" in the legislation, adding if he doesn't receive a "suitable bill," the "next administration will have to deliver a COVID relief package, and maybe that administration will be me."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.