Loeffler & Perdue’s Opposition To Trump’s Calls For $2,000 Direct Relief Checks “Complicates” GOP Runoff Message

Trump’s Call For More Coronavirus Relief Is An “Unwelcome Development”

Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler’s self-serving “victory lap” was cut short last night after President Donald Trump slammed the latest round of pandemic relief because of Senate Republicans’ failure to deliver bigger direct relief checks. The two GOP senators, “who planned to highlight the relief package in the closing days of the Jan. 5 runoffs” and were already “touting the aid package” in ads and on the campaign trail, are now facing questions about whether they will join Democrats and Trump in finally supporting more direct economic relief for the American people.

Loeffler and Perdue’s sticky predicament continues to spiral for the duo as the “unwelcome development” of Trump’s latest demands “echoes exactly the case that Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock have made on the campaign trail.” Loeffler has dodged questions and refused to directly answer where she stands on the issue, while Perdue has “declined repeated requests for comment.” The two ultra-wealthy senators have already repeatedly stood against extending emergency unemployment relief and passing another round of direct relief checks.

Now the president’s controversial veto of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) this afternoon is further complicating the closing message for Senators Perdue and Loeffler and flushed another issue for the embattled incumbents “down the toilet.”

Take a look at how the latest “unwelcome development” for Republicans is playing out in Georgia:

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Trump’s demand for boost in COVID relief complicates Georgia’s U.S. Senate runoffs

• Georgia’s Republican U.S. senators were ready to take a victory lap this week after the overwhelming passage of a bipartisan $900 billion coronavirus relief package. Now they must contend with demands from President Donald Trump to sweeten the pot that play directly into their rivals’ criticism.

• Trump’s video late Tuesday urging Congress to “amend this bill and increase the ridiculously low $600 to $2,000” was an unwelcome development for U.S. Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, who planned to highlight the relief package in the closing days of the Jan. 5 runoffs for control of the U.S. Senate.

• Instead, the two Republicans must choose between dueling factions: The senators can join a coalition of liberal Democrats and the president in pushing for more generous incentives, or they can stick with congressional leaders and remain supportive of a measure they both backed as a crucial economic boost earlier this week.

• Aides to Perdue, who cut an ad Tuesday praising the virtues of the relief package, declined repeated requests for comment on his stance.

• Trump’s eleventh-hour pivot echoes exactly the case that Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock have made on the campaign trail. Both said they would have voted for the relief measure, but they criticized Republicans for not ensuring it included $2,000 checks and more aid for local governments.

• “I would have voted for the bipartisan package because people need help right now, but $600 is a joke. It’s a joke. It’s an insult,” Ossoff said at a campaign event in Atlanta.

• Warnock’s campaign issued a statement along the same lines: “Donald Trump is right, Congress should swiftly increase direct payments to $2,000.”

Roll Call: Trump complicates Georgia Republicans’ COVID-19 relief message

• President Donald Trump’s decision to slam the latest round of pandemic relief from Congress could complicate matters for Georgia’s two Republican senators, who were touting the aid package ahead of their runoff elections on Jan. 5.

• The president’s remarks came several hours after both Georgia Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler launched new television ads highlighting their response to the coronavirus crisis. Their Democratic opponents, Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, seized on Trump’s comments, calling on the two Republicans to back increased payments.

• Perdue’s campaign did not respond to multiple requests for comments. He has opposed direct payments in the past but supported the latest round of relief, and he touted the $600 checks in an ad released Tuesday.

• Ossoff and Warnock, who have made COVID-19 relief an issue in the runoffs, took advantage of Trump’s comments to sharpen their criticisms of the senators.

• Ossoff, a former congressional aide who is challenging Perdue, said the $600 checks were a “joke.” After the president’s video was released Tuesday night, the Democrat tweeted, “$2,000 checks now.”

• Warnock, a pastor who faces Loeffler in the special election runoff, called on her to back Trump’s proposal.

• “Donald Trump is right, Congress should swiftly increase direct payments to $2,000,” he said in a statement Wednesday. “Once and for all Senator Loeffler should do what’s best for Georgia instead of focusing on what she can do for herself.”

POLITICO: ‘Complete clusterf—’: Trump leaves Washington in limbo

• The last-minute Covid stimulus demands from Trump — who has been preoccupied with fighting the election results, leaving Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin to negotiate the long-delayed rescue bill — have put Republicans in a particularly tough spot. In addition to the confusion it has caused on Capitol Hill, the move has also complicated a Republican push to win two Georgia runoff races next month that will decide the Senate majority.

• A last-minute veto could also have implications in the Georgia runoffs Jan. 5. McConnell had promised Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue that the chamber would not leave for Christmas without a deal, and both senators have been touting the stimulus package in their campaigns.

Associated Press: COVID relief bill morphs into a test of GOP loyalty to Trump

• WASHINGTON (AP) — Threatening to tank Congress’ massive COVID relief and government funding package, President Donald Trump’s demand for bigger aid checks for Americans is forcing Republicans traditionally wary of such spending into an uncomfortable test of allegiance.

• Republicans led by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have resisted $2,000 checks as too costly. They have not said if they will block the vote.

• The president’s push to increase direct payments for most Americans from $600 to $2,000 for individuals and $4,000 for couples splits the party with a politically painful loyalty test, including for GOP senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, fighting to retain their seats in the Jan. 5 special election in Georgia.

• Democrats were taking advantage of the Republican disarray to apply pressure for a priority. Jon Ossoff, Perdue’s Democratic opponent, tweeted simply on Tuesday night: “$2,000 checks now.”

• Trump’s threats to hold up the pandemic legislation could also complicate matters for Republicans in Georgia, where two runoff races to determine control of the Senate will be held in January.

Washington Post: Trump’s last-minute tantrum throws pandemic relief effort into chaos

• The chaos is unfolding against the backdrop of another potential government shutdown, with current funding set to lapse starting Tuesday. It also handed Democrats in two vital Senate races in Georgia a fresh political weapon against their GOP opponents, with Trump swiftly undercutting Sens. David Perdue (R-Ga.) and Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) as they took a victory lap over securing $600 stimulus checks that Trump has now attacked as too small.

• “Only Trump could take a final big win for his administration and in a fit of illogical madness disown any credit he’ll ever get for it,” said another senior GOP official. “To the extent that Trump’s bizarre ramblings contribute to any negative feelings for Republicans, Perdue and Loeffler are the ones who will ultimately pay the price.”

###