President Donald Trump has signed a $900 billion
pandemic relief package, ending days of drama over his refusal to accept
the bipartisan deal that will deliver long-sought cash to businesses
and individuals and avert a federal government shutdown.
The massive bill includes $1.4 trillion to fund government
agencies through September and contains other end-of-session priorities
such as an increase in food stamp benefits.
The signing Sunday, at his private club in Florida came amid
escalating criticism over his eleventh-hour demands for larger, $2,000
relief checks and scaled-back spending even though the bill had already
passed the House and Senate by wide margins. The bill was passed with
what lawmakers had thought was Trump's blessing, and after months of
negotiations with his administration.
His foot-dragging resulted in a lapse in unemployment benefits for
millions struggling to make ends meet and threatened a government
shutdown in the midst of a pandemic.. But signing the bill into law
prevents another crisis of Trump’s own creation and ends a standoff with
his own party during the final days of his administration.
It was unclear what, if anything, Trump accomplished with his delay,
beyond angering all sides and empowering Democrats to continue their
push for higher relief checks, which his own party opposes.
In his statement, Trump repeated his frustrations with the COVID-19
relief bill for providing only $600 checks to most Americans instead of
the $2,000 that his fellow Republicans already rejected. He also
complained about what he considered unnecessary spending by the
government at large.
“I will sign the Omnibus and Covid package with a strong message that
makes clear to Congress that wasteful items need to be removed,” Trump
said in the statement.
While the president insisted he would send Congress “a redlined
version” with items to be removed under the rescission process, those
are merely suggestions to Congress. The bill, as signed, would not
necessarily be changed.
Democrats, who have the majority in the House, immediately vowed to
prevent any cuts. Democrats “will reject any rescissions” submitted by
the president, said Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey,
D-N.Y. , in a statement.
Lawmakers now have breathing room to continue debating whether the
relief checks should be as large as the president has demanded. The
Democratic-led House supports the larger checks and is set to vote on
the issue Monday, but it's expected to be ignored by the Republican-held
Senate where spending faces opposition. For now, the administration can
only begin work sending out the $600 payments.
Republicans and Democrats swiftly welcomed Trump's decision to sign the bill into law.
“The compromise bill is not perfect, but it will do an enormous
amount of good for struggling Kentuckians and Americans across the
country who need help now,” said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell,
R-Ky. “I thank the President for signing this relief into law."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., called the signing “welcome
news for the fourteen million Americans who just lost the lifeline of
unemployment benefits on Christmas weekend, and for the millions more
struggling to stay afloat during this historic pandemic and economic
crisis.”
But others slammed Trump's delay in turning the bill into law. In a
tweet, Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., accused Trump of having “played
Russian roulette with American lives. A familiar and comfortable place
for him.”
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he would offer
Trump’s proposal for $2,000 checks for a vote in Senate — putting
Republicans on the spot.
“The House will pass a bill to give Americans $2,000 checks. Then I
will move to pass it in the Senate,” Schumer tweeted. “No Democrats will
object. Will Senate Republicans?”
Democrats are promising more aid to come once President-elect Joe
Biden takes office, but Republicans are signaling a wait-and-see
approach.
Congress will push ahead Monday, with the House expected to vote to
override Trump’s veto of an annual must-pass Defense bill, confronting
the president on another big issue in the final days of the session. The
Senate is expected to follow on Tuesday.
In the face of growing economic hardship, spreading disease and a
looming shutdown, lawmakers spent Sunday urging Trump to sign the
legislation immediately, then have Congress follow up with additional
aid. Aside from unemployment benefits and relief payments to families,
money for vaccine distribution, businesses and more was on the line.
Protections against evictions also hung in the balance.
“What the president is doing right now is unbelievably cruel,” said
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. “So many people are hurting. ... It is really
insane and this president has got to finally ... do the right thing for
the American people and stop worrying about his ego.”
Republican Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania said he understood that
Trump “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.”
Toomey added: “So I think the best thing to do, as I said, sign this and then make the case for subsequent legislation.”
The same point was echoed by Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican
who’s criticized Trump’s pandemic response and his efforts to undo the
election results. “I just gave up guessing what he might do next,” he
said.
Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois said too much is at stake for Trump to “play this old switcheroo game.”
“I don’t get the point,” he said. “I don’t understand what’s being
done, why, unless it’s just to create chaos and show power and be upset
because you lost the election.”
Washington had been reeling since Trump turned on the deal. Fingers
pointed at administration officials, including Treasury Secretary Steven
Mnuchin, as lawmakers tried to understand whether they were misled
about Trump’s position.
“Now to be put in a lurch, after the president’s own person
negotiated something that the president doesn’t want, it’s just — it’s
surprising,” Kinzinger said.
Kinzinger spoke on CNN’s “State of the Union,” and Hogan and Sanders on ABC’s “This Week.”
