Senators prepare to override Trump's potential stimulus veto as Democrats push additional payments

The Senate is getting ready to override President Trump's vetoes two times as he's on his way out the door.

After Congress passed a massive government spending package that included a range of COVID-19 relief proposals, Trump declared his opposition to the stimulus, threatening to veto it if it's not amended to include $2,000 checks. But because that and another bill he's looking to veto have overwhelming support, Trump is setting himself up for double failure before he leaves the White House.

Trump aired his grievances with the stimulus package in a video posted on Twitter Tuesday night, calling the bill a "disgrace" and its $600 stimulus checks "ridiculously low." Trump didn't acknowledge that the $600 check proposal came from his Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) quickly agreed that Congress should distribute bigger checks, and other Democrats echoed her view. Still, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) said Trump should sign the government funding bill first.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Meanwhile, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) mentioned Wednesday that senators have already been told they may have to return to session to override Trump's veto. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) wasn't a fan of the spending package, possibly complicating a unanimous override vote.

Also likely to get overridden is Trump's potential veto of the annual National Defense Authorization Act, which allocates $741 billion to the Pentagon. Trump pledged to oppose the bill because it mandates renaming military bases named for Confederate leaders. Again, both the Senate and House passed the bill with more than two-thirds support, nullifying Trump's potential veto; Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has already set up the process for overriding it.