President Trump could be making life harder for Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler in their runoff races in Georgia after announcing Tuesday the coronavirus relief package that the Republican Senators touted as a big win falls far short of his own expectations.
Mr. Trump recently campaigned on behalf of the two Republicans, but signaled he doesn’t agree with their reviews of the $900 billion coronavirus relief package after slamming it in an online video.
“The bill they are now planning to send back to my desk is much different than anticipated,” Mr. Trump said of the relief package. “It really is a disgrace.”
Mr. Trump said the package was bloated with “wasteful spending.”
He said the bill should do more for struggling restaurants and said the $600 in direct payments to everyday Americans is far too small.
He called for $2,000 to be sent out to every American.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, welcomed the news, saying “Let’s do it!”
It marked another twist in the competitive Georgia Senate races for Mr. Perdue and Mrs. Loeffler, who have gone out of their way to embrace their loyalty to Mr. Trump in their races.
Mr. Perdue and Mrs. Loeffler issued a joint statement Monday blaming Democrats for “playing politics with Americans’ health and livelihoods” by blocking legislation, while also celebrating the final bill as a big win for the American people and small businesses.
“Chuck Schumer & Nancy Pelosi made this harder than it needed to be, purposely holding up relief that could have been delivered months ago,” Mr. Perdue said on Twitter Monday.
Mr. Ossoff, meanwhile, said he would have voted in favor of the package, but said the $600 direct payments were far too low, calling them a “joke.”
Mr. Perdue is running against Democrat Jon Ossoff, and Sen. Kelly Loeffler is running against Democrat Raphael Warnock.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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