What A 50-50 Senate Means For $2,000 Stimulus Checks

WASHINGTON - While Americans are starting to get their $600 stimulus payments passed by Congress last month, one big question is whether the $2,000 payments demanded by President Donald Trump are still a possibility.

The chances for that extra money may have gotten a boost Wednesday after major news outlets projected Democrats Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff swept the two runoff elections in Georgia for the U.S. Senate. It means the Senate will be split 50-50, with the Democrats holding the tiebreak advantage when President-elect Joe Biden takes office.

Going into Tuesday's two elections, Biden's final pitch to voters in Georgia was simple: Americans getting $2,000 checks depended on a Democratic sweep.

"If you send Jon and (Warnock) to Washington, those $2,000 checks will go out the door, restoring hope and decency and honor for so many people who are struggling right now," Biden told supporters Monday in a clear declaration. Ossoff and Warnock also campaigned for the checks.

The Associated Press called the race for Warnock against Republican incumbent Sen. Kelly Loeffler Tuesday late Tuesday. Ossoff was called as the winner over incumbent Rep. David Perdue Wednesday. It was looking likely that both races would finish outside the 0.5% margin needed for a recount.

Because Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will serve as the tiebreaker in her role as President of the Senate, it means Democrats will have the advantage in the Senate. They will also hold the White House and the majority in the House of Representatives.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, spoke Wednesday about the prospects of becoming the majority leader and said $2,000 checks would be among the first items on the agenda. Schumer wouldn't say whether the $2,000 stimulus checks would be a narrow bill, like the House passed, or part of a larger stimulus package.

Trump demanded on Dec. 22 that the $600 payments passed by Congress be increased to $2,000, paid for by cutting wasteful spending in the budget. Democrats in the House quickly passed the increased amount. But Democratic-led efforts in the Senate were blocked multiple times by Republicans.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., countered with a proposal of $2,000 checks as long as Democrats agreed to repeal online liability protections called Section 230 and to establish a commission on voter fraud -- two things Trump demanded. The move was considered a "poison pill" because those two additional provisions were something most Democrats would disapprove.

How quickly $2,000 payments could be passed remains in question. Because the proposal that died in the Senate was made during the previous Congress, the new Congress would have to take it up as a fresh bill. If Harris' vote is needed as a tiebreaker, she does not take office until Jan. 20.