BREAKING: Georgia Senators Loeffler and Perdue pledge to back $2,000 stimulus checks

Republican Senators Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue said on Tuesday that they both support President Donald Trump's push to increase direct stimulus payments to $2,000 per person from $600. Loeffler and Perdue are in tight runoff races in Georgia which will determine control of the US Senate.

During an appearance on Fox & Friends, Loeffler expressed support for Trump and said she would back the president's proposal to increase the payments.

"The president has fought for our country from day one," she said. "He continues to fight for every single American. I've stood by the president one hundred percent of the time. I'm proud to do that. And I've said absolutely we need to get relief to Americans now, and I will support that."

Loeffler said that she would consider supporting the direct payments of $2,000 if money was shifted from "wasteful spending" toward the payments.

Perdue told Fox's America's Newsroom on Tuesday that he is "delighted" to support Trump on the increased payments.

"I think with the vaccine coming, I think this is absolutely appropriate, so I fully support what the president's doing right now," Perdue added.

The debate over the stimulus checks and the COVID Relief Bill have become a prominent campaign issue in Loeffler's race against Democrat Raphael Warnock and in Perdue's contest against Democrat Jon Ossoff.

On Monday, the House of Representatives voted 275-134 to increase the payments to $2,000 from $600, with 44 Republicans joining the vast majority of Democrats who voted for the legislation.

On Sunday, Trump signed the $2.3 trillion COVID-19 relief and government funding bill into law despite his criticism that the $600 checks weren't enough.

Loeffler's and Perdue's support for Trump's $2000 direct payment proposal puts added pressure on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to increase the size of the direct payments.

Republican Senators Lindsey Graham (SC), Marco Rubio (FL), and Josh Hawley (MI) have stated that they would support $2,000 checks, which could hint at a growing conservative defections in favor of increasing the amount in direct payments.