Democrat Demands for Direct Checks Increase: ‘Let’s Send Out $2k Monthly Checks’

Democrat Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) joined far-left members of the “Squad” in demanding $2,000 direct checks for the American people, but took the request a step further, calling for the checks to be “monthly.”

“We cannot afford to wait any longer. Let’s send out $2k monthly checks,” Khanna said Tuesday as Democrats continue to clamor over President-elect Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion spending plan, which includes $1,400 checks rather than $2,000:

We cannot afford to wait any longer.

Let’s send out $2k monthly checks.

— Rep. Ro Khanna (@RepRoKhanna) January 19, 2021

Last week, Khanna suggested that Democrats, who will have a majority in the Senate, take it a step further and provide Americans with $2,000 per month “every month, until this crisis is over”:

Let's not just give ordinary Americans a one-time $2,000 check. With our new majority and a worsening crisis, let's meet the need: $2,000/month, every month, until this crisis is over.

— Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) January 14, 2021

Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), a far-left member of the “Squad,” also said last week that the checks should be “recurring.” She later emphasized they are “survival” checks rather than “stimulus” checks:

The people deserve, demand and require $2,000 recurring monthly survival checks.

— Ayanna Pressley (@AyannaPressley) January 15, 2021

My constituents need, deserve & require $2,000 recurring checks.

These are not stimulus checks—these are survival checks. pic.twitter.com/DLBmhX0k0V

— Ayanna Pressley (@AyannaPressley) January 17, 2021

Other members of the “Squad” weighed in following the reveal of Biden’s plan, which falls short of providing $2,000 checks as Democrats promised. However, Biden and his team contend they are meeting the goal when combining the $1,400 with the $600 from the $2.3 trillion government spending and coronavirus relief measure President Donald Trump signed last month.

“$2,000 means $2,000. $2,000 does not mean $1,400,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) said, according to the Washington Post.

Freshman Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) shared the same sentiment:

$1,400 ≠ $2,000

— Cori Bush (@CoriBush) January 15, 2021

$1400 < $2000

Math teachers know this. That $600 is already in the clutches of landlords and bill collectors. Stop compromising the working class, and our most vulnerable neighbors.

— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) January 15, 2021

“$600 wasn’t enough,” Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) said last week. “The American people are struggling to make ends meet and need relief. We must immediately pass $2,000 survival checks”:

$600 wasn’t enough.

The American people are struggling to make ends meet and need relief. We must immediately pass $2,000 survival checks. https://t.co/mPlf3IC2Ys

— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) January 15, 2021

The clash over increasing relief checks follows Trump’s demand for Congress to raise the amount. However, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) rejected the Democrats’ standalone measure to increase the total, offering his own proposal which combined increasing checks with addressing Section 230 and establishing a commission to investigate allegations of voter fraud. He later accused his Democrat colleagues of advocating socialism for rich people.

Last week, Biden stated his administration will “finish the job of getting a total of $2,000 in cash relief to people who need it the most.”