Second Stimulus Check Delay Bashed as ‘Shameful’ by Rep. Ilhan Omar

As talk of a second stimulus package continues without any action taken by the Senate, Rep. Ilhan Omar has blasted the inaction as “shameful.” In a tweet sent on Wednesday, the Minnesota Congresswoman pointed out that rent is due for millions of Americans who’ve been financially devastated by the coronavirus pandemic.

Along with her comment about rent, Omar also cited the one-time $1,200 payment that came as part of the $2 trillion CARES Act that was passed back in March. Given that tens of millions of people dealing with unemployment, there’s been a widespread call for an additional stimulus package of some kind. The House of Representatives passed the HEROES Act in May, though the bill has been stalled in the Senate, with little chance of progressing from there. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has indicated that the second round of stimulus payments would be a priority after they reconvene following the July 4th holiday.

In an interview with Fox News on Wednesday, President Donald Trump promised that a second stimulus check would be arriving at an unspecified time and would be larger than the payments that came as part of the CARES Act. “I support actually larger numbers than the Democrats, but it’s got to be done properly,” Trump claimed. “I want the money getting to people to be larger so they can spend it. I want the money to get there quickly and in a non-complicated fashion.” He also said that it should create a “great incentive to work,” referring to the extra $600 in unemployment benefits that also came as part of the CARES Act.

Trump has waffled in the past over his support of a second stimulus package. Back in April, he’d floated the idea of a payroll tax cut, although economists largely agreed that the impact wouldn’t be nearly enough to keep the economy moving. Particularly given the extraordinarily high number of unemployed people who wouldn’t see any benefit from it at all. On Tuesday, McConnell did tell reporters that the focus of a second stimulus package “will be kids, jobs, and health care.”