US President Donald Trump headed back to Washington from his Florida resort yesterday, a day earlier than planned, as he continued his fight with Congress over a defence bill and stimulus cheques as well as a long-shot bid to overturn his November election defeat.
Trump, who originally was scheduled to attend a New Year’s Eve party at his Mar-a-Lago resort, boarded Air Force One and took off for Washington just after 11.30am EST (1630 GMT).
He did not speak to reporters on departure, and has not done so in weeks.
The White House has given no reason for the change in plan, but it coincides with Trump’s fight with Congress over his veto of a major defence bill and his demand for increased coronavirus stimulus cheques, as well as a spike in tensions with Iran.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, the top Republican in the chamber, dealt a likely death blow on Wednesday to Trump’s bid to boost coronavirus aid to Americans, declining to schedule a swift vote on a bill to raise relief cheques to $2,000 from the $600 included in the relief package passed by Congress earlier this month.
The US president had ramped up pressure on fellow Republicans to back the bigger cheques for struggling Americans in a series of tweets in recent days, in which he attacked Republican leaders as “pathetic” and accused the party of having a “death wish” if it did not increase stimulus payments.
Republicans in Congress have largely stuck with Trump through four turbulent years, but the president is angry that they have not fully backed his claims of election fraud in the November 3 election won by Democrat Joe Biden.
Republican Senator Josh Hawley on Wednesday pledged to challenge Biden’s victory when Congress convenes to officially tally the Electoral College votes on January 6, which could trigger a lengthy debate in the Republican-controlled Senate but has virtually no chance of overturning the results.
Some Republican senators had supported an increase in the stimulus payments, including David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, who face run-off elections in Georgia next week that will determine which party controls the Senate under Biden.
While Trump is back in Washington, Biden is expected to spend a quiet night at his beach house in Delaware, although he is due to appear on the long-running ABC special Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2021 in the evening.
The tensions among Republicans have been exacerbated by a second showdown over an effort in Congress to override Trump’s veto of a defence policy bill.
The Senate voted 80-12 on Wednesday to begin debate on the issue, with another procedural vote due today.
If successful, the effort would lead to the first veto override of Trump’s presidency.
The Democratic-controlled US House of Representatives voted to overturn Trump’s defence bill veto on Monday.