The Senate is currently hashing out the next coronavirus relief package, which will pass once Democrats and Republicans agree on everything in it, but that's not all that has to happen before qualified Americans can get the stimulus check included in it - President Trump has to sign off on it too, and in an interview yesterday, he took issue with the current amount of the stimulus check, which he thinks isn't enough.

Even though both sides of the aisle tentatively agreed on a check for $1,200 to anyone making $75,000 or less, like the first check was, Trump wants it to be more. When asked by WMID in Texas this week, "Is $1,200 enough?" Trump responded, "We're going to see. It may go higher than that actually." He went on to state:

"I’d like to see it be very high because I love the people. I want the people to get it, you know. The economy is going to come back. We just had tremendous job numbers as you know it was just announced. We had great retail sales numbers, so this is all coming back. We had the greatest economy we’ve ever had and we had to close it up because you know we had to do it. We saved millions of lives by doing that, but now we’re bringing it back and now it’s going to come back. We gotta take care of the people in the meantime."

He might have a difficult time accomplishing that. Some Republicans already think the $1 trillion price tag on the bill is too high, so adding more to it might be a hard sell. As it stands, a $1,200 check will go to anyone making less than $75,000, while those who earn more will get $1,200 minus 5% of the amount they make over $75K. Meanwhile, joint filers earning less than $150,000 get the full benefit and those who make more will have their check reduced by 5% of the amount over $150K they earn. Anyone qualified will also receive $500 extra for any dependents.

No word on when the stimulus checks will go out though as there are a lot of things left for Republicans and Democrats to agree on. Other sticking points are unemployment benefits, state and local financial assistance, and liability protection for businesses, schools and hospitals. Hopefully they can come to an agreement quickly and pass a bill before August 7, when the Senate takes their summer recess. If they do, expect checks to go out about 13 business days after a package passes. However, if they can't agree on a bill before their recess or if Trump vetoes it, you might not see a check until October.

Photo: Getty Images

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Michael J.