Yet, polling indicates that a notable portion of the Republican base is far more open to the bill. Last month, more than two-thirds of Republicans said they supported increasing individual payments to $2,000 from $600, which Mr. Trump had proposed but Senate Republicans had rejected. Nearly seven in 10 Republicans said it was important for the current bill to include $1,400 direct checks, according to the SurveyMonkey poll.
Many Republican voters who expressed concerns about the size of the stimulus package said they didn’t oppose the direct payments but worried about what they saw as extraneous provisions — like a proposal to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour and $350 billion in aid for state and local governments.
“People need help right now, and I’m OK with my tax dollars doing that — I’d help feed my neighbors if they needed it,” said Melissa Karn, 53, a Trump voter from the Phoenix suburbs. “But I am not on board with sending money to rebuild and bail out cities that have not been run very well for years.”…
“It’s like the Republican establishment doesn’t have any common sense,” said Tara Davis, 40, a foster mother in Burlington, N.C. “We’re finding out all this money that’s just been wasted and they couldn’t give people $2,000?”
Join the conversation as a VIP Member