While Democrats favored bigger checks, Congress had settled on smaller $600 payments in a compromise over the big year-end relief bill Trump reluctantly signed into law. The vote was a stunning turn of events from just days ago, when House Republicans blocked Trump's demands during a Christmas Eve session. After the robust House vote, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer warned, “There is no good reason for Senate Republicans to stand in the way.”“There’s strong support for these $2,000 emergency checks from every corner of the country," Schumer said in a statement. The bipartisan bill negotiated by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had already passed the House and Senate by wide margins. Most House Republicans simply shrugged off Trump's push, 130 of them voting to reject the higher checks that would pile $467 billion in additional costs.

(AP Photo/John Flesher)WASHINGTON – Education Secretary Betsy DeVos planned a “Moms for Trump” rally in her home state of Michigan. It's long been one of the benefits of incumbency that a president can enlist his Cabinet to promote administration accomplishments. “The Trump administration has completely obliterated that line," said Austin Evers, executive director of American Oversight, which describes itself as a nonpartisan watchdog organization. "The White House is now the seat of government, where the president lives, and one of his chief campaign props. “The Trump administration takes the Hatch Act seriously and all events are conducted in compliance with the law,” White House spokesman Judd Deere said.

CNNWASHINGTON (CNN) - The House of Representatives on Thursday passed a bill to temporarily extend funding for the federal government and avert a shutdown at the end of the month. The Senate will need to pass the bill next for it to make it to President Donald Trump's desk for his signature. "We must pass a continuing resolution to avoid another government shutdown," House Appropriations Chairwoman Nita Lowey, a Democrat from New York, said in a statement. On Wednesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters that she isn't concerned about the Senate appropriations process, saying, "They know their timetable. The partial shutdown impacted roughly a quarter of the federal government and hundreds of thousands of federal workers.