The latest $900 billion COVID bill out of Congress contains a ton of spending that has nothing to do with virus relief. It’s over 5000 pages and contains over $110 billion in unrelated tax breaks, such as faster expensing for NASCAR stadiums. It contained billions for foreign governments, gifts federal land to the Teddy Roosevelt Presidential Library in North Dakota and creates a horse racing commission (Senator Mitch McConnell is from Kentucky). It makes creates new federal penalties for illegally streaming pirated content.
And of course there’s $15 billion for U.S. airlines to ‘bring employees back to work’ through March even though they furloughed fewer than 40,000 and United Airlines tells employees to expect to be re-furloughed.
President Donald Trump is aghast, but also wants $2000 direct payments to most Americans who haven’t lost their jobs. What if he were to veto this legislation after U.S. airlines have recalled workers?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 23, 2020
Airlines have already told workers they’re coming back. Here’s the full American Airlines recall notice letter (.pdf). Just the top snippet:
If workers are recalled, under normal circumstances they’d have to be sent WARN Act notices in advance to be re-furloughed. If sent at the end of the year, would workers have to be paid until March – just one month short of what the legislation provides for, even without a government subsidy?
Employees are being told their pay is retro to December 1. Perhaps the airlines could wiggle out of that, there was no consideration from employees in exchange for this and it was based on a government commitment that wouldn’t have materialized. But is a recall notice a formal recall, when employees haven’t actually been scheduled back to work yet – just told they will be? This could be the subject of litigation between airlines and their unions.
I do not believe Trump will actually veto this bill. He might be asking Congress to send him amendments, but those likely won’t happen in the next week and a half. There probably aren’t the votes in the Senate for more direct payments, $2000 per person.
The President has 10 days (not including Sundays) to sign or veto the bill. If he does neither in that timeframe it becomes law on its own. Airlines are still almost certain to get their next round of taxpayer money. But could they be in a pickle, having acted in reliance on legislation having passed Congress and assuming support from the President (perhaps since it also includes over a billion dollars for The Wall with Mexico, which Mexico isn’t paying for)?
If these employees are receiving unemployment benefits the states are quite likely to demand the return of the money paid from 12/1. Unintended consequences. Once again the airlines get more than the people that have to actually work for a living. Being a professional beggar pays pretty well.
Like most of Trumpism, its all just a show. The fix was in before the Bill ever came to a vote, and he was clearly part of that deal. Now that the Bill he agreed to sign is proving so unpopular, he wants to put up a bit of a fuss. An actor, acting. He’ll never veto it, but I double dare him to and would love to see it happen..
Hey Gary,
Dont forget Trump might be able to use the pocket veto to kill the bill.
Don’t they have enough votes on this to override a veto? I don’t understand the calculus of someone who votes for this bill, but then doesn’t vote for it again to override the veto of a president who is on his way out the door.
I can count on one hand how many times I have agreed with Trump. This is one of them but completely agree this is nothing more than show. He was AWOL for the talks and the amount was actually initially presented by Mnuchin. Where was Trump during the discussion to present his case and say Mitch either you agree to this or I’m not signing the bill.
All spectacle in true Trumpian fashion. Now that Pelosi called his bluff let’s see what happens.
But he’s right. The people should be getting more to help those in need. Let the airlines restructure through the bankruptcy courts.
Isn’t the media saying the Omnibus bill was combined with the Covid bill with the approval of (at the request of?) the White House? Don’t most of the non-Covid related items in those 5000 pages belong to the Omnibus bill?
Mnuchin was the point man for Trump but consulted with Trump. No way could Trump be in the same room with Pelosi and ever get anything done. Those 2 are oil and water. There are a lot of things that Trump has said and done that I don’t agree with but he gave us a hell of an economy and a stock market to die for. He got oil prices down and made us energy independent. We have too many politicians in Washington and we need more like Trump, although it’s a bit hard to swallow at times. And after bashing the vaccine and how they wouldn’t take it look who is jumping the line to get it first. Congress is like a baby diaper, always on your ass and full of shit!
I hate when travel blogs become political blogs constantly.
He’s throwing daily tantrums on his way out. He could have been involved in the negotiations the past few weeks but has chosen to sulk, lash out and connive to steal the election instead. He’s always been inclined to throw his weight around, lash out, and do the opposite of what is right and expected, now it’s just much worse. Jan. 20 can’t come soon enough.
Of the 900 billion approved, only 22% was for individuals with the rest earmarked, a.k.a. pork, for oh-so-important things like trans-gender studies in Pakistan, a study of why so many Central American children are migrating to the U.S. (duh!), 1.2 billion unspecified to Egypt, and so on. No money was for aid to the thousands of small businesses closed or on the verge of collapse such as restaurants while airlines are asking for even mo’ money, mo’ money, mo money. Does anyone think Trump’s presence in the negotiations would have appeased Pelosi?
Trump is a national embarrassment, and his tenure will go down as one of the low points in American history – can only hope his flamethrowing damage the next 27 days is minimized.
“The President has 10 days (not including Sundays) to sign or veto the bill. If he does neither in that timeframe it becomes law on its own.” Not correct. Congress hasn’t even gotten the bill to Trump yet. Congress will have to recess by January 3rd, so all trump really has to do is nothing and then it will be a pocket veto. The bill won’t become law. The congress will not be able to simply vote to overrule his veto, instead a new congress would have to start from scratch. Oh and a government shutdown will occur on 12/28. They don’t have the votes in congress for amendments. This is a sideshow. Trump has no intention of not signing this unless he decides to try for a full on coup and power grab, because a pocket veto at this point would be beyond devastating for the country. This could have been avoided if Congress got their act together and was just a few days earlier with submitting the bill.
@OneX Marine, you should move to China. Xi has done better than Trump with his economy and Xi doesn’t even hold elections he must ignore to remain in power. For those with TDS, Trump is more important than democracy. If there is one thing this country does not need it is more people or politicians like Trump.
@ John – You’re entitled to your opinion but there are somewhere around 74 million people that might disagree with you. While I don’t like everything President Trump does or says he’s accomplished a lot. He feels he was cheated in the election as do I, but I want the courts to decide if we need to have a recount or whatever. If not I am certain that DJT will be out of the office on 1/20/2021. He may be down the street holding a rally but he and his family will be gone. As far as me moving to China, that isn’t going to happen.
It’s amazing how infested this blog has become with liberals and socialists. First of all, the so-called Covid Relief Bill is loaded with pork, that has nothing to do with Covid, but has everything to do with the Pelosi and her crowd wasting money on garbage, that could never pass on it’s own. She held up stimulus until after the election, so she could help Biden. This bill is another, “you have to pass it to know what’s in it.”
@OneXMarine, No matter how much or little a president accomplishes, they don’t get to overturn an election because they “feel” they were cheated. Trump has no credibility. Remember he also swore to high heaven that he lost the popular vote to Clinton in 2016 only because of 3 to 5 million illegal votes! This is a democracy the last time I checked. We are governed by the rule of law not what a politician or those who voted for him feels or wishes.
We can disagree on policy and personality. I hope we don’t disagree on democracy and the rule of law. To the extent we disagree on policy, surely Trump is not the only politician who supports the policies you think are beneficial for our country.
@OneXMarine – I am truly sad for you that you have been had by Don The Con. You may want to watch Newsmax or OAN to see the legal backpedaling they have had to do about their lies around voting machines.
Oh, and since HRC in 2016 had as many electoral votes as Trump in 2020, but a net of 10mm more votes (her up 3mm, Donny down 7mm), I can only imagine how much you believe she was even more robbed!
@ John – If President Trump feels, and he does, that the election was stolen from him he has the right to exercise every LEGAL means to overturn it. That is democracy and it’s the law. I would not support DJT or any President to try and overturn an election by use of force or some illegal means. HRC could have tried it but she didn’t. She won the popular vote but lost the electoral college. The electoral college was put into place so that large states don’t dictate to the rest of the country who is going to be president. So don’t try and paint me as some right wing nut case. I bleed red, white, and blue.
@UA-NYC – I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that math was not one of your majors in high school.
@OneXMarine – I’m going to guess that you didn’t even finish high school, as one does not have a “major” in HS. That happens in college.
Sorry about your alternative reality.
@UA-NYC – The high school I went to you had to have so many major classes, such as math, history, English, literature, etc. an so many minors such as typing, shop, etc.
You must be a member of the APBA?
@OneX – still waiting for you to point out the flaw in my argument. Feel free to use mathematics.
How exactly was this stolen from Trump? If there was any evidence you would think his elite legal team would do better than 1 for 57 in lawsuits.
The delusion by the far right is beyond hilarious at this point.
@OneXMarine, Trump has filed over 30 meritless law suits contesting election results. He has won zero including two defeats in the U.S. Supreme Court! He has no more lawsuits to file. But he and Flynn have even talked about marshal law.
The only reason Trump has been unsuccessful in overturning the election results is the professionalism of the judiciary and the military, which he knows won’t follow the illegal orders he would like to issue.
HRC didn’t contest the 2016 election because she had no basis to contest it. In 2020 Trump lost the popular vote and the electoral college yet he brings dozens of lawsuits that have no factual or legal basis for overturning election results.
A president who claims massive election fraud based purely on a feeling cares nothing about democracy and public confidence in elections. Trump cares only about himself. He cares nothing about the damage he causes to our democracy. Building a wall doesn’t begin to make up for that.
@John – In my mind there is ample evidence of misconduct. I thought before the election that the ballot dump was just a way to turn the vote to Biden. This isn’t over but when it is then it will be final. I’ll never accept Joe Bama and Spread Eagle Harris as my President and Vice President but I wont protest and burn down buildings and harm people, I’ll just wait until the next election and see DJT back in the White House!