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“Fantastic”: This is how Donald Trump’s Finance Minister Steven Mnuchin recently called the deal on a second Corona aid package. Trump described the compromise shortly thereafter as an “embarrassment.” His supporters are said to believe that he wanted to get them far more financial aid, even against Republicans. On Saturday, Trump reiterated his rejection on Twitter: He just wanted to make sure “our great people” got $ 2,000 instead of the “measly” one-time payment of $ 600. In Florida, the president spent the holidays playing golf; The law, which contains both the crown’s commitment and the budget, had been in his Mar-a-Lago club unsigned since mid-week.
If Trump doesn’t sign the deal, the additional unemployment benefits will expire on Saturday. And because the $ 900 billion package is tied to the budget law, there would likely be another “shutdown” of the administration on Tuesday. In addition to direct payments and an increase in unemployment benefits, the deal also includes business loans and money for the smooth distribution of the corona vaccine. President-elect Joe Biden accused Trump of irresponsibility, which would have “devastating consequences.”
Trump stabbed his own party in the back
The Washington Post cited sources close to the president who denied that Trump was dealing with the plight of the Americans. The loser only wanted to cause Congress, and ultimately Republicans who had let him down in terms of “voter fraud,” “as much pain as possible” out of anger, he said. Trump once again addressed the stories on Saturday about alleged “fraud” in the elections: It was time for Republican senators to fight for him, as there was “irrefutable evidence,” he wrote on Twitter.
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Until last week, Democrats and Republicans in Congress had assumed that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin was negotiating with Trump while pushing for compromise between the two parties. Trump now stabbed the party and his minister in the back, who had always supported him particularly loyally and defended him against all accusations. After Trump broke the negotiations with his demand for a one-time payment of $ 2,000 per person, Democrats quickly challenged the Conservatives: They should follow their president’s lead. The Republicans refused. Additional unemployment benefits for 14 million Americans expired on Saturday.
Many Americans are dependent on aid
Had Republicans given in to Trump’s demand, the aid package would have risen to at least $ 1.2 trillion. Trump could have signaled to his supporters that he was fighting for Americans in need. It was his party that had blocked another aid package since the pandemic began. House Democrats had voted in the fall for a package worth more than two trillion dollars that they could not pass in the Senate. It included an additional $ 1,200 in direct aid, as well as cash injections for specific industries and regional governments. At the time, they described a Republican proposal that contained much lower payouts as unacceptable. Now the compromise was supposed to alleviate the worst misery before aid ran out.
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The new package has already drawn much criticism, although it would expand on some important measures. Small businesses and certain industries receive more loans and aid payments. The cessation of defaulting tenant evictions will be extended for now, around fourteen million people could lose their homes without the regulation.
The one-time payment will be cut in half: In March, anyone with a social security number below a certain income limit received $ 1,200. The additional unemployment benefit will initially only be extended for another eleven weeks, and instead of an additional $ 600, there will only be an additional $ 300 per week. Since actual unemployment benefits are often below $ 100 and in many states end after short periods of time, many of those who have lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic are dependent on additional help.
