Stimulus payments, budget still up in the air

Earlier this week, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Americans could start receiving coronavirus relief checks from the government as soon as next week. Days later, the bill to approve the payments unexpectedly remained in limbo after Republicans on Thursday threw cold water on the president’s request to up the amount from $600 to $2,000 per person.

What happens next? President Donald Trump has not explicitly said he will veto the legislation, which contains $900 billion in coronavirus relief aid and money to fund the federal government through the end of the fiscal year. If he did, Congress could potentially override him since the plan originally passed with a veto-proof majority. The House and the Senate both plan to convene next week to vote on setting aside Trump’s Wednesday veto of the National Defense Authorization Act. In the meantime, federal funding is set to expire Monday night, and a brief government shutdown could ensue.

Dig deeper: Read Harvest Prude’s report in The Stew about the barriers to compromise on government funding and economic relief.