The U.S. House of Representatives voted Monday evening to increase the second round of federal direct payments to Americans from $600 to $2,000. (Photo by Lenin Nolly/Sipa USA)(Sipa via AP Images)

The U.S. House of Representatives voted Monday evening to increase the second round of federal direct payments to Americans from $600 to $2,000 — an action demanded by President Donald Trump in recent days as he threatened to veto the larger stimulus plan.

Nearly every House Democrat, including Mississippi Congressman Bennie Thompson, voted on Monday to increase the direct checks to Americans. They were joined by 44 Republicans, meeting a two-thirds threshold needed for the resolution to pass.

But 130 Republicans — including Mississippi Reps. Trent Kelly, Michael Guest and Steven Palazzo — voted against the measure.

The House’s move comes a day after Trump signed an earlier passed $2.3 trillion coronavirus relief package. The president threatened a veto of that package for several days, demanding on social media over the weekend that Congress — the Democratic-controlled House and the Republican-controlled Senate — increase direct payments from $600 to $2,000 per individual.

The procedural resolution passed by the House on Monday now moves to the Senate, where it will also require a two-thirds vote.

It is unclear if the Senate will even take up the House proposal, Politico reports, despite Trump insisting Sunday night he had secured an agreement from Republican leaders to do so.

Mississippi Republican Sens. Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith rejected earlier calls for higher direct payments to individuals.


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Adam Ganucheau, as Mississippi Today's editor-in-chief, oversees the newsroom and works with the editorial team to fulfill our mission of producing high-quality journalism in the public interest. Adam has covered politics and state government for Mississippi Today since February 2016. A native of Hazlehurst, Adam has worked as a staff reporter for AL.com, The Birmingham News and The Clarion-Ledger and his work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post and Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Adam earned his bachelor’s in journalism from the University of Mississippi.