Search Results: Are there really any signs

For many months, negotiations have been going on for a second round of COVID relief payments to Americans. Democrats wanted larger payments to individuals ($1200) and larger extra unemployment benefits. Republicans wanted no direct payments to individuals and smaller extra unemployment benefits. After a long standoff, they eventually compromised on $600 direct payments to individuals and both the House and Senate passed that.

Donald Trump could sign it and the $600 payments could go out next week, but now he's saying that the payments should be $2000. The Democrats agree and will try to pass a House bill tomorrow to authorize $2000 payments. Mitch McConnell and most Republicans didn't want any direct payments to individuals and only grudgingly agreed to $600, so they're not going to be happy about $2000 payments, but with Trump, Democrats, and a lot of citizens wanting $2000 there's a lot of pressure on them to approve $2000 payments or make a lot of people angry if they don't.

Republicans will say we can't afford payments that large (and they have a point because the deficit is HUGE and this would make it even bigger), but they could offset the cost of the extra payments to individuals by eliminating some of the support to businesses in the current bill or by repealing some of the big tax breaks they gave to big corporations and very wealthy people a couple years ago. They would really hate to do that though.

Almost all Senate Republicans vote the same way as McConnell, so he's basically the one that will decide what happens. What do you think he'll do - agree to the $2000 with no cost offset (raising the deficit), agree to it but offset the cost (either by reducing other benefits to businesses or to individuals), or prevent it from happening and tell Trump to sign the current bill for $600 payments because he won't agree to anything more?