Trump and the White House secretary have been vague about the timing.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Monday said states would be able to “implement” new weekly federal unemployment benefits of up to $ 400 within two weeks, after the Trump administration repeatedly refused to provide a timeline for the new benefits announced by President Donald Trump over the weekend , after the collapse of coronavirus negotiations with Democrats.
“Within the next week or two, most will be able to execute,” Mnuchin, who answered the question to Trump at his news conference Monday, said at the president’s suggestion.
Earlier in the day, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany told reporters that the benefit would be delivered “quickly” and “close to immediate” to the Americans, but did not provide a specific schedule. On Saturday, Trump said it would be “rapidly divided.”
Trump took action to create a new federal unemployment benefit over the weekend, turning up to $ 44 billion in disaster relief funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for the distribution of the states. The federal government is set to contribute $ 300 a week, with states expected to contribute an additional $ 100 under the memorandum. The benefit would only be available to workers who have already collected at least $ 100 in other unemployment benefits.
The president also signed an executive order directing the federal government to work to curb layoffs and a memorandum to defer employer taxes and student loan payments – a series of unilateral steps aimed at addressing ‘ the concerns of Americans in the pandemic and ongoing recession, after negotiations collapsed between senior officials of officials and Democratic leaders over the scope of additional compensation funds.
Democrats and some Republicans criticized the president’s executive actions after talks on coronavirus relief on Capitol Hill broke down between the Trump administration and Democratic leaders, as some administrators warned that their states were incapable of 25% of the benefit under the President to carry memorandum.
“We appreciate the White House’s proposals to provide additional solutions to address economic challenges; however, we are concerned about the significant administrative burdens and costs that this latest action would place on states,” Andrew New York Gov. . Andrew Cuomo and Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, the president and vice president of the Association of National Governors, said in a statement Monday.
Democrats passed a $ 3 trillion package passed by the Democratic-led House in May, while Mnuchin and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows began talks after the GOP leaders of the House of Representatives introduced a $ 1 trillion proposal that her own conference had split.
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