KC area GOP reps buck Trump on major bills after backing effort to keep him in power
House Republicans from Kansas and Missouri who supported efforts to overturn the presidential election to keep President Donald Trump in power on Monday evening defied him on two major votes.
The Democratic-controlled House passed legislation to increase upcoming COVID-19 relief payments to individuals from $600 to $2,000 after Trump has repeatedly blasted the $600 figure as insufficient and called for an increase.
It followed that with a vote to override Trump’s veto of the National Defense Authorization Act, the annual bill that funds the U.S. military.
Trump had vetoed the legislation, which provides a 3% pay increase to troops, because of a provision that requires 10 military bases named after Confederate officers to change their names.
Kansas City area Democratic Reps. Sharice Davids and Emanuel Cleaver supported both measures, which passed with two-thirds majorities.
Several GOP members from the Kansas City region joined Democrats in overriding Trump’s veto of the defense spending bill, an embarrassing rebuke of the president during his final weeks in office.
Rep. Vicky Hartzler, a Missouri Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, pointed to the projects at Fort Leonard Wood and Whiteman Air Force Base that would be funded by the bill.
“This NDAA supports Missouri military construction projects, Missouri-made aircraft and munitions, and builds on the progress we’ve made in rebuilding our military readiness after years of neglect,” Hartzler said in a statement.
Other Republicans from the region who joined Hartzler in backing the veto override include Missouri Reps. Sam Graves, Ann Wagner and Blaine Luetkemeyer, all of whom signed onto an amicus brief in support of an unsuccessful Texas-led lawsuit that sought to overturn President-elect Joe Biden’s victory over Trump.
Hartzler, Graves and Luetkemeyer defied Trump twice in one night, also voting against increasing COVID-19 aid to $2,000. Wagner supported the measure.
Rep. Jason Smith, who represents southeast Missouri, was the only Republican member from the region to side with Trump on both issues, voting against the veto override and supporting the increased payments.
Kansas GOP Senator-elect Roger Marshall, Wichita Republican Rep. Ron Estes and Springfield Republican Rep. Billy Long voted to uphold Trump’s veto, but they voted against the proposal to increase COVID-19 aid.
Estes took aim at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rather than Trump in explaining his opposition to the bill.
“Speaker Pelosi is ready to send more checks to millions of Americans who have not lost a paycheck while completely ignoring the rightful outrage from Kansans regarding the billions in unnecessary spending,” Estes said in a statement.
Marshall, who is in his final week in the U.S. House before moving to the Senate, declined to explain his votes. Marshall had voted in favor of the NDAA earlier this month before upholding Trump’s veto.
Outgoing Topeka Republican Rep. Steve Watkins, the only GOP House member from the region not to sign onto the lawsuits seeking to overturn the election, did not vote on either bill.
The vote to increase the individual COVID-19 aid checks came after Trump relented on his opposition to a $900 billion relief bill based partly on the expectation that Congress would consider legislation to increase checks to individuals from $600 to $2,000 per person.
Trump reiterated his support for the measure early Tuesday following House passage.
“Give the people $2000, not $600. They have suffered enough!” Trump said on Twitter.
The GOP-controlled Senate is now the only thing that stands between the bill and Trump’s signature after the House approved the legislation by a vote of 275 to 134.
Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley voiced support for the measure on Twitter Tuesday morning, but Hawley’s previous efforts to increase the amount of individual aid have faced opposition from fellow Republicans.
It’s unclear whether Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will take up the bill in the U.S. Senate before the current congressional session ends this week.
“With support from the President, two-thirds of the House of Representatives, and every Democrat in the Senate, there is no excuse for the Senate Majority Leader to block this critical legislation from getting a vote on the Senate Floor,” said Cleaver, whose district covers Kansas City’s urban core.
Cleaver has pushed for increased aid for months, signing onto a proposal in March to issue $2,000 checks to individuals each month of the pandemic.
The legislation passed by the House Monday will provide a one-time payment. Cleaver predicted more aid will be needed in the future.
“For months now, my Democratic colleagues in Congress have pushed for larger survival checks for working class Americans who have been devastated by the economic impact of a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic. Despite previous objections from congressional Republicans, it appears the holiday spirit has rubbed off on my colleagues across the aisle,” Cleaver said in a statement after 44 Republicans crossed party lines to back the bill.
“I’m extraordinarily pleased they have come around to the realization that American families are in dire need of substantive direct payments and have joined House Democrats in increasing these payments from $600 to $2,000.”
This story was originally published December 28, 2020 at 8:56 PM with the headline "KC area GOP reps buck Trump on major bills after backing effort to keep him in power."
