Live politics updates: Trump slams COVID stimulus bill, sending lawmakers scrambling
Trump called the deal a “disgrace.” The president urged lawmakers to increase the bill’s direct payments to Americans from the negotiated $600 per person.Trump also took issue with funding provisions, like continued foreign aid and support for government-funded arts centers.
Trump’s late-stage denunciations have likely complicated the situation for Georgia Senators Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, who both face challenges in a Georgia runoff on Jan. 5. Their Democratic opponents have both said that $600 direct payments were too small, while Loeffler and Perdue did not initially support payments in the package.
Trump stopped short of saying he would veto the bill, but if he did, lawmakers would have the numbers to override it.
—Matthew Brown
Trump and Democrats agree on something?
Democratic leaders were quick to voice their approval for increased direct payments to Americans. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi responded to Trump on Twitter, saying “At last, the President has agreed to $2,000 – Democrats are ready to bring this to the Floor this week by unanimous consent. Let’s do it!”
Among those eager to join Trump in boosting the amount of direct payments is Michigan Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a member of the so-called “squad” of progressive female members of the House that the president routinely derides as incompetent and unpatriotic.
Tlaib said she and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have already drafted language for a proposal to raise the amount.
“Me and @AOC have the amendment ready,” she tweeted. “Send the bill back, and we will put in the $2,000 we’ve been fighting for that your party has been blocking.”
Pfizer and BioNTech will supply the U.S. with an additional 100 million doses of their COVID-19 vaccine.
Pfizer already has a contract to supply the government with 100 million doses of the vaccine by summer 2021. The government also has the option to acquire up to an additional 400 million doses.
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said in a statement that the latest deal can give people confidence “that we will have enough supply to vaccinate every American who wants it by June 2021.”
Operation Warp Speed is on track to have about 40 million doses of vaccine by the end of this month, of which about 20 million would be allocated for first vaccinations. Distribution of those doses would span into the first week of January.
—Associated Press
Bye, Barr: Last day of tumultuous tenure as attorney general
Attorney General William Barr departs the Justice Department Wednesday after a tenure serving as one of Trump’s most aggressive defenders before breaking with the president’s increasingly desperate efforts to overturn the November election.
In nearly his nearly two years leading Justice, Barr emerged as a steadfast advocate for Trump even in the face of the damning findings outlined in the Russia investigation, while intervening in the prosecutions of the president allies.
Yet in a vivid display of Trump’s brand of transactional relationships, the president earlier this year turned on his attorney general when Barr indicated that a much-anticipated review of the Russia inquiry would not be completed until after the election. Trump had hoped the review would boost his campaign.
The attorney general’s most dramatic break with the president came this month when he said the Justice Department had found no evidence of widespread voter fraud that would change the outcome of the vote.
Barr’s comment in an interview with the Associated Press represented an especially public retreat from Trump’s repeated and unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud and the campaign to overturn the president’s election loss to President-elect Joe Biden.
As Trump weighed dismissing the attorney general, Barr submitted his resignation that takes effect Wednesday.
Before leaving, however, Barr poked the president again, saying Monday that there was no reason to appoint special counsels to take over an ongoing tax investigation involving Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, or to pursue unfounded claims of election fraud. Trump has privately pushed for both appointments.
At the same time, Barr said Russia was to blame for the massive cyberattack that has penetrated at least a half-dozen federal agencies, even as Trump has pointed the finger at China and sought to downplay the seriousness of the breach.
As Barr exits, Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen fills the post as acting attorney general.
—Kevin Johnson