Donald Trump again lashes out at South Dakota Republican senator John Thune and says governor Kristi Noem should primary him - after Thune refused to allow a vote on $2,000 stimulus checks

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President Donald Trump again lashed out at South Dakota Republican Sen. John Thune, floating that the state's GOP Gov. Kristi Noem should primary him. 

'I hope to see the great Governor of South Dakota Kristi Noem, run against RINO Sen. John Thune, in the upcoming 2022 Primary. She would do a fantastic job in the U.S. Senate, but if not Kristi, others are already lining up. South Dakota wants strong leadership, NOW!' Trump tweeted Friday afternoon. 

The president was likely reacting to Thune's role on the Senate floor earlier in the day, when he blocked Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's final attempt to get a vote on a bill for $2,000 stimulus checks passed before the conclusion of this Congress. 

Later Friday afternoon Trump sent out a tweet signaling his anger about a veto override that the Senate had voted on - and on Republicans' decision not to vote on $2,000 checks.  

The president called the veto vote 'Pathetic!!!' and then added, 'Now they want to give people ravaged by the China Virus $600, rather than the $2,000 they desperately need. Not fair, or smart!' 

President Donald Trump lashed out at Sen. John Thune on Friday, calling him a 'RINO' and encouraging South Dakota's GOP Gov. Kristi Noem to mount a primary challenge against him 

Trump's tweet was likely in response to the role Thune played earlier Friday, when he objected to proceeding to a vote on a bill that would give Americans $2,000 stimulus checks for COVID-19 relief 

Later Friday afternoon he called Senate Republicans' decision not to move forward with a vote 'Not fair, or smart!' in a tweet that also addressed that the Senate had overruled his veto for the very first time, allowing a giant military spending bill to pass  

Thune, who's the Senate's top Republican after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, spoke Friday on the Senate floor and explained why he objected to the $2,000 relief checks

Trump has been encouraging South Dakota's Gov. Kristi Noem, an ally of the president, to try and take Thune's Senate seat. He's up for re-election in 2022 

On Friday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer tried one final time to get a vote on the $2,000 checks bill - supported by both President Donald Trump and the progressive left. His moved was blocked by Sen. John Thune, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate 

Trump had previously aimed his ire at Thune who had mocked the president's attempts to reverse the presidential election saying plans to reject Electoral College vote counts aren't 'going anywhere' and 'in the Senate it would go down like a shot dog.' 

Noem said publicly she would not primary Thune. He's up for re-election in 2022. 

On Friday, Thune, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, took the place of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell who had vocalized the Republicans' objection over the last few days.  

'The problem with what is being put forward, the House-passed CASH Act, is that it is not targeted to help those who are most in need,' Thune said on the Senate floor. 

On Thursday McConnell railed against the plan - supported by both Trump and the progressive left, including Sen. Bernie Sanders.         

'Experts from across the political spectrum agree that our colleague from Vermont is dead wrong on this,' McConnell said, aiming the comments at Sen. Bernie Sanders. 'Socialism for rich people is a terrible way to help the American families that are actually struggling.' 

McConnell repeated many of the same lines during Friday's rare New Year's Day Senate session.  

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said he's against the $2,000 stimulus checks bill because he says it amounts to 'socialism for rich people'  

Sen. Bernie Sanders, a self-proclaimed democratic socialist, has used props all week to promote the $2,000 checks bill. On Friday he brought large checks with him to the Senate floor to show huge tax rebates that were given to companies like Amazon 

Sanders has given lively floor speeches on behalf of the bill in recent days and brought along props like blown up version of Trump tweets and giant checks made out to businesses like Amazon, which have received large tax rebates.    

'I am delighted to hear the majority leader talking about socialism for the rich ... so let me talk about the socialism for the rich that the majority leader is enthusiastically supportive of,' Sanders said Thursday. 

The Vermont independent who twice ran for the Democratic presidential nomination pointed a finger at the Trump-backed tax bill that passed Congress in December 2017.  

'Under that bill Charles Koch, one of the very richest people in America, he has a net worth of $113 billion, that bill gave Mr. Koch a $1.4 billion tax break,' Sanders said. 'Majority leader that sounds to me like socialism for the rich. Ahhh!' 

The $2,000 stand alone bill passed in the House starts cutting that amount for Americans who make more than $75,000.   

Sanders and a small group of progressive Senate Democrats had wanted to delay the vote to overrule Trump's veto of the National Defense Authorization Act to push McConnell on the $2,000 issue, but they were overruled by members of their own party who voted Wednesday night to start that process.  

Schumer and also Vice President-elect Kamala Harris voted in favor of the motion to proceed.  

Now proponents of the $2,000 checks are looking ahead to the new Congress, which starts on January 3 at noon.   

During a Thursday morning appearance on 'Fox & Friends,' Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican and top ally of Trump's on Capitol Hill, said he supported the $2,000 checks measure and pushed McConnell to present a clean bill to the body after January 3. 

Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of the handful of Republicans who supports the $2,000 checks, said Thursday morning he wanted Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to present a clean bill in the next Congress, which begins January 3 

President Donald Trump, photographed leaving West Palm Beach, Florida Thursday, has pushed for the $2,000 check amount. He's backed it using Twitter, but didn't do much else to force Senate Republican hands 

'Here's what I'd like - I'd like a stand-alone vote in the new Congress on the $2,000 check,' Graham said. 'We have seven Republicans who've already said they would vote for it. We need five more. I think if we had the vote, we would get there.' 

The Senate used the remainder of the session to deliver Trump his first veto loss. 

That vote took place Friday afternoon.  

The president had long promised to veto the huge defense bill, first over the inclusion of a provision to rename military bases named for Confederate figures.  

More recently, Trump threatened to veto the large piece of legislation if Congress didn't retool section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which the president argued gives 'big tech' companies like Facebook and Twitter too much legal protection. 

McConnell had offered on Tuesday a bill that included the $2,000 provision, but also killed off section 230, while also creating an election commission - two Trump demands. 

That bill was a poison pill for Democrats, though Schumer said Thursday he'd support voting on each of those proposals individually.  

Trump was headed back to Washington, D.C., Thursday after spending Christmas at his Mar-a-Lago resort. 

He tweeted '$2000 ASAP!' Wednesday morning.