released October 4, 2020 shows US President Donald Trump working in
the Presidential Suite at Walter Reed National Military Medical
Center in Bethesda, Maryland on October 3, 2020, after testing
positive for COVID-19. AFP PHOTO /THE WHITE HOUSE/JOYCE N.
BOGHOSIAN/HANDOUT
Millions of Americans struggling through the pandemic
faced the loss of unemployment benefits on Sunday as President
Donald Trump kept up his refusal to sign a massive Covid relief
bill passed by Congress.
The delay also threatened to provoke a government shutdown by
Tuesday since the relief package is part of a larger spending bill,
though lawmakers could approve another temporary extension to keep
the government open.
Two federal unemployment benefit programs approved in March as
part of an initial Covid relief plan expired at midnight on
Saturday, cutting off an estimated 12 million Americans, according
to The Century Foundation think tank.
The $900 billion relief package approved overwhelmingly by
Congress on Monday following months of negotiation would extend
those benefits as well as others set to expire in the days
ahead.
But the day after the bill was approved, Trump dashed whatever
hopes lawmakers’ long-delayed efforts produced, calling the bill a
“disgrace” in a video posted to Twitter and signaling he would not
sign it.
He pushed for $600 direct payments to US taxpayers spelled out
in the bill to be more than tripled and argued the legislation
included too much excess spending on unrelated programs.
He did not say why he waited until the bill was already approved
to make his views known.
From his Christmas vacation at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida,
Trump on Saturday reiterated his concerns in a Twitter post.
President-elect Joe Biden, due to be sworn in January 20 after
beating Trump in November’s election, meanwhile warned of
“devastating consequences” on Saturday if the incumbent continued
his refusal.
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– ‘Chaos and misery’ –
Trump had not commented on Sunday, and some Republicans were urging
him to change course, noting the bill was the result of painstaking
compromise.
“I understand he wants to be remembered for advocating for big
checks, but the danger is he’ll be remembered for chaos and misery
and erratic behavior if he allows this to expire,” Republican
Senator Pat Toomey said on Fox News on Sunday.
Senate.
Trump has not explicitly said whether he will veto the bill.
Congress could, in theory, override his veto, though it is
unclear whether Republicans would choose to defy him to that
degree.
Another option would be for Trump to simply do nothing,
resulting in a “pocket veto” since Congress’s current session is
due to end and a new one will begin on January 3.
READ ALSO: US COVID-19 Outbreak May Worsen After
Holidays – Scientist Fauci
Democrats in Congress on Thursday sought to approve a measure to
increase the direct payments in line with what Trump wants, but
Republicans blocked it.
It was seen largely as a theatrical move designed to expose the
rift between Republicans and the outgoing president with little
hope of passage.
Senator Bernie Sanders on Sunday said that “what the president
is doing right now is unbelievably cruel.”
“Many millions of people are losing their extended unemployment
benefits,” he said on ABC.
“They’re going to be evicted from their apartments because the
eviction moratorium is ending.”
Sanders urged Trump to sign the bill and said increased direct
payments could be approved in the coming days.
AFP
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