- President Donald Trump has expressed support for another wave of direct payments to Americans, telling aides he believes it could help him be reelected later this year, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday.
- The White House remains divided on whether another round of stimulus checks should be included in an economic relief package.
- Research has indicated that the money helped Americans make ends meet by being able to afford groceries and rent payments.
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President Donald Trump has expressed support for sending Americans another round of stimulus checks, telling aides he believes it would strengthen his chance of being reelected and boost the economy, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday, citing three sources familiar with the administration’s internal deliberations.
The Trump administration hasn’t adopted a clear stance on the measure, and rifts have emerged within the White House over the prospect of sending additional federal cash straight to Americans.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who earlier this month opened the door to more direct payments, has expressed support for the initiative, The Post reported.
But other administration officials, such as Larry Kudlow, the director of the National Economic Council, have expressed skepticism about cutting government checks en masse again, particularly to people who already received one.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In March, Congress and the Trump administration authorized $1,200 stimulus checks to be sent to individuals earning under $75,000 a year, plus an extra $500 for dependent children, under the Cares Act. Over 159 million Americans had received direct payments by the beginning of June, per the IRS.
But the government payout triggered criticism, as some people reported roadblocks in accessing the funds. There was also substantial controversy when the Treasury Department printed Trump's name on the paper checks and when the IRS sent taxpayers a letter on White House letterhead praising the administration's economic response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Economists have said the federal money helped shore up people's finances as unemployment surged to record levels. A study from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University published in early May found that the payments had provided relief for people with fewer dollars in their bank accounts.
Much of the spending, researchers said, went toward groceries, rent, and other bill payments. The stimulus checks were also a critical component of helping to keep people from falling into poverty as the economy cratered in April and May, research from the University of Chicago and the University of Notre Dame found.
House Democrats included another wave of $1,200 direct payments in the spending package the chamber passed last month, widening eligibility to unauthorized immigrants and increasing the payment size for dependents. But Senate Republicans opposed the bill and haven't proposed an alternative.
Congressional Republicans have grown wary of ramping up federal spending to confront the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. Lawmakers have approved over $3 trillion in emergency spending so far.
Last month, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blasted the provision to send federal cash to unauthorized immigrants left out of the initial wave of federal payments. It's unclear whether the GOP will support more payments, as it has long opposed Trump's call for another payroll-tax cut.
In an interview with Scripps Network that aired Monday, Trump signaled that he was on board with the idea of more stimulus checks but did not give further details. He also expressed support for another economic relief package.
