The House of Representatives on Monday voted to override President Trump's veto of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, a critical defense policy bill.
"Every Republican vote against this bill is a vote to deny the financial hardship that families face and to deny the American people the relief they need", she said.
The defence bill, known as the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, affirms three per cent pay raises for USA troops and authorizes more than $740 billion in military programs and construction. Trump exercised his veto last week, returning the bill with objections including its proposal to change the names of 10 military bases honouring Confederate leaders.
But the NDAA was vetoed by the president because it did not repeal Section 230, a federal law that provides liability protection to internet companies. Separately, the president and some supporters claim Big Tech platforms such as Facebook and Twitter are biased against conservatives.
President-elect Joe Biden, asked by a reporter Monday if he favored raising the payouts to $2,000, replied, "Yes".
But it was not enough.
After signing off on the the stimulus check increase, the House voted 322 to 87 to override Trump's Wednesday veto of a bipartisan $740 billion defense spending bill.
Most House Republicans simply shrugged off Trump's push, 130 of them voting to reject the higher checks that would pile $467 billion in additional costs. Congressman Kevin Brady said the bill would not help the nation's unemployed get back to work. "There is no other consideration that should matter".
McConnell said it was important for Congress to continue its almost six-decade-long streak of passing the defence policy bill. We did it once.
The President's last-minute objections to the stimulus legislation initially threw into question whether he would sign it at all. "We can be done, and we can be proud of what we have accomplished".
It will become law if passed with a two thirds majority. If successful, it would be the first veto override of Mr Trump's presidency.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) speaks during a press conference on Capitol Hill on December 20, 2020 in Washington, DC. Mary Small, Indivisible's acting national policy director, said: "This is no cause for celebration".
When Trump finally did sign the legislation Sunday evening, he signaled in a statement that he signed the coronavirus relief bill only after securing a commitment for the Senate to consider legislation to increase stimulus checks from $600 to $2,000. He eventually relented on Sunday night at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, averting a government shutdown.
The issue appears unlikely to gain traction in the Republican-controlled Senate.
Increasing the direct payments has been met with skepticism by many members of Trump's own Republican party, however. It is time for the Senate to act.
"I share many of my colleagues' concern about the long-term effects of additional spending, but we can not ignore the fact that millions of working class families across the nation are still in dire need of relief", Sen.
Sanders, a former candidate in the Democratic presidential primary, added: "Let me be clear: If Senator McConnell doesn't agree to an up or down vote to provide the working people of our country a $2,000 direct payment, Congress will not be going home for New Year's Eve".
"From the start, I have firmly believed that the response must match the size and scope of this crisis", Katko, R-Camillus, said in a statement.
