Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) blocked an attempt by Democrats yesterday to hold an immediate vote on increasing stimulus checks to $2,000 from $600, leaving the fate of the measure unclear as President Trump continued to demand the larger payouts and more Republicans publicly endorsed the idea, the New York Times reported. Instead, McConnell provided vague assurances that the Senate would “begin the process” of discussing $2,000 checks and two other issues that Trump has demanded lawmakers address: election security and removing legal protections for social media platforms. McConnell would not say whether he planned separate votes on the three issues or if he would bring them for a vote on the Senate floor at all. But in a sign of how he might approach them, the majority leader introduced new legislation yesterday afternoon combining the $2,000 checks, election security and social media provisions into one bill, which would most likely doom the effort. The sudden talk of election security complicates matters, given that Trump continues to claim, without evidence, that voter fraud cost him re-election. Democrats would undoubtedly resist anything that could be seen as trying to undermine the outcome of the election.
