House poised to overturn Trump’s veto of defence spending as lawmakers push for $2,000 checks

Democrats to consider larger direct payments after president’s late signature on relief bill

The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives is poised to override Donald Trump’s veto of a $740bn annual defence spending bill on Monday, the first time Congress will have shot down a presidential veto in Mr Trump’s term, less than a month before he leaves office.

On Monday, House Democrats are also expected to vote on increasing the size of direct payments that were included in another piece of legislation – $900bn in coronavirus relief attached to an omnibus government funding bill – after the president’s last-minute objections to the bill that his own administration negotiated created a lapse in unemployment relief for millions of Americans. He signed the measure on Sunday, after nearly a week of delays from its bipartisan passage in Congress.

Democrats have sought to leverage the president’s objections over $600 cheques to force Republicans to agree to $2,000 payments. Democrats in both chambers have fought for months to increase payments after a one-time stimulus of $1,200 in April.  Republicans rejected Democrats’ attempts to send out another similarly sized payment during recent debate over the latest relief package.

Last week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House will “hold a recorded vote on our stand-alone bill to increase economic impact payments to $2,000.”

“To vote against this bill is to deny the financial hardship that families face and to deny them the relief they need,” she said.

In a statement on Sunday night, Mr Trump said the GOP-controlled Senate would “start the process for a vote that increases checks to $2,000,” but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has not indicated he supports larger cheques.

The National Defense Authorization Act passed both both chambers of Congress earlier this month by veto-proof majorities in both chambers, as the president promised to reject the legislation over his unrelated social media grievances and the legislation’s provisions to rename military bases named after Confederate leaders.

Military funding in the bill includes a 3 per cent pay raise for US troops, as well as veteran health support and many other non-combat measures. The NDAA has passed without disruption for decades.

Looking for leverage to strike a blow against “Big Tech” he president threatened to veto the measure for its “failure to terminate the very dangerous national security risk of Section 230,” part of the Communications Decency Act that prevents internet companies from being held liable for the content posted on their platforms by third parties.

The president and his allies argue it is being used to suppress right-wing voices on social media platforms and "facilitates the spread of foreign disinformation online,” despite the president’s own creation and amplification of false and deceptive claims on Twitter and elsewhere. Republicans have argued that platforms labelling false and misleading statements as such is evidence of bias.

Despite not getting anything he demanded in his 11th-hour objections, Mr Trump’s late signature on coronavirus relief appeared conditional on the Senate’s promise to repeal Section 230 and an “investigation into voter fraud,” of which there has been no widespread evidence after his loss in the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden.

He said in a statement on Sunday night: "Big Tech must not get protections of Section 230! Voter Fraud must be fixed! Much more money is coming. I will never give up my fight for the American people!"

House lawmakers approved the NDAA earlier this month with a veto-proof vote of 355-78, and the GOP-dominated Senate approved the measure with a vote of 84-13.

Despite the overwhelming bipartisan support from this Congress, it’s unclear how the chambers will move forward. The president’s allies – including the right-wing House Freedom Caucus as well as House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who supported passage of the bill – have now suggested they will sustain Mr Trump’s veto.