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By Reuters 
4h ago
Steve Holland and Susan Cornwell
Washington – US President Donald Trump on Sunday enacted a $ 2.3 trillion pandemic aid and spending package, which restored unemployment benefits for millions of Americans and averted the shutdown of the federal government in a crisis that he provoked himself.
Trump, who leaves office on January 20 after losing the November election to President-elect Joe Biden, retracted his earlier threat to block the bill, which was approved by Congress last week, after it it came under intense pressure from lawmakers on both sides.
The Republican president, who played golf on Sunday and remained out of the public eye even as the government crisis loomed, had demanded that Congress change the bill to increase the size of stimulus checks for struggling Americans. to $ 2,000 from $ 600 and also cut some other expenses.
It was not immediately clear why Trump, who has refused to acknowledge Biden’s defeat, changed his mind about the stimulus package. His resistance had threatened to inject more chaos into the final stretch of his presidency.
After signing the bill behind closed doors at his beachside club, Trump sought to put his best face on his descent, saying he was signing the bill with “a strong message that makes it clear to Congress that the articles of waste must be eliminated. “
“Much more money is coming,” he insisted in a statement, although he did not provide anything to back up this promise.
And with less than a month in office, Trump is expected to gain little to no traction with lawmakers to make changes.
White House officials have been quiet about Trump’s thinking, but a source familiar with the situation said some aides had urged him to give in because they saw no point in refusing.
Democrats have long agreed to the $ 2,000 payments, but many Republicans have opposed it, so the figure is unlikely to be revised up while Trump is in office.
Many economists agree that financial aid in the bill should be higher to get the economy moving again, but say immediate support is still urgently needed for Americans affected by the coronavirus lockdowns.
Unemployment benefits paid to roughly 14 million people through pandemic programs expired Saturday, but will restart now that Trump has signed the bill.
The package includes $ 1.4 trillion in spending to fund government agencies. Had Trump not signed the legislation, it would have started a partial government shutdown on Tuesday that would have put the incomes of millions of government workers at risk.
Americans are going through a bitter Christmas season amid a pandemic that has killed nearly 330,000 people in the United States, with a daily death toll now exceeding 3,000, the highest since the pandemic began.
The aid package also extends a moratorium on evictions that was due to expire on Dec. 31, updates support for small business payroll, provides funding to help schools reopen, and aid for the transportation and distribution industry. vaccinations
Global stock prices rose in response to news that Trump had signed the stimulus plan and pulled out of a public spending crisis.
Futures for the US S&P and Japan’s Nikkei index rose about 0.4% and spot gold prices rose almost 1%.
“It is positive for the markets that we no longer have stimulus chaos, considering there was the possibility of a partial government shutdown,” said Masahiro Ichikawa, chief strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management.
ABRUPT MOVEMENT
Trump’s abrupt decision to sign the bill came after a majority of Republican lawmakers refused to back his call for changes to the legislation they had already voted on.
Hours earlier, Republican Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania told Fox News Sunday that Trump wants “to be remembered for defending big checks, but the danger is that he will be remembered for the chaos, misery and erratic behavior if he allows this to expire.”
Republican officials were relieved that Trump had backed away from his veto threat, saying he should help Republican Senate candidates David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler in the Jan.5 runoff elections in Georgia that will determine control of the United States Senate.
Trump noted that the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives planned to vote Monday to increase coronavirus relief checks to individuals from $ 600 to $ 2,000, and said the Senate will “begin the process” to approve higher payments.
US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a fellow Republican, said “I thank the president for signing this relief into law” but did not mention any plans for a Senate vote.
Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi welcomed Trump’s signing as a “down payment on what is needed” and said, “Now, the president must immediately call on Republicans in Congress to end to his obstruction and join him and the Democrats in supporting our independent legislation to increase direct paychecks to $ 2,000. “
After months of arguing, Republicans and Democrats agreed on the package last weekend, with the support of the White House.
Trump surprised both Republicans and Democrats when he later said he was unhappy with the huge bill, which provides $ 892 billion in financial relief from the coronavirus.
Trump spent the Christmas holidays at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. On Sunday morning, he seemed in no rush to try to resolve the showdown with Congress while playing a round of golf at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach.
He had also complained that the bill gives too much money to special interests, cultural projects and foreign aid.
In his signing statement, Trump also sought to keep alive his campaign of unsubstantiated claims that the November election was rigged against him.
He said the House of Representatives and the Senate “agreed to focus heavily on very substantial voter fraud” and that the Senate will launch an investigation.
Neither McConnell nor Pelosi mentioned such an agreement. Democratic lawmakers have firmly rejected Trump’s claims, as have some Republicans. McConnell angered Trump by recognizing Biden as president-elect.
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