- Trump held a last-minute press conference Friday at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, and claimed to be ready to go ahead with executive action on coronavirus relief.
- He said he was ready to push for improved unemployment benefits, an eviction moratorium, a tax cut, and student loan relief.
- But its executive authority remained unclear with Congress holding the power of the stock market.
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President Donald Trump held a last-minute press conference Friday night and claimed to be ready to use expansive executive power when negotiations with Democrats over another incentive package end.
“If Democrats hold these critical relief hostages, I will act under my authority as president to give Americans the relief they need,” Trump said.
He said he was ready to go on unemployment insurance, an eviction moratorium, a tax cut, and student loan relief. But the extent of his authority remained unclear because Trump did not provide full details.
On Friday, stimulus negotiations between the White House and the top Congress of Democrats crashed after two weeks of fruitless talks. Trump blew House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Leader for Minorities in the First Chamber, Chuck Schumer, saying “they were only interested in Bailout Money for poorly run democratic cities and states.”
—Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 7, 2020
“We’re going another way!” he wrote on Twitter.
Its executive power differs with each priority. Trump probably has the authority to introduce an eviction moratorium, but Democrats said it would not be effective unless money was allocated to provide relief to tenants.
On unemployment insurance, the president did not describe details about the order he claims he prepared. He declined to say whether it would restore the $ 600 federal unemployment benefit that expired at the end of July.
Democrats have long sought to extend the $ 600 federal supplement to January. But Republicans wanted to cut it to a lower level.
While stimulus talks went without breakthrough, the president began to signal that he could bypass Congress on a number of priorities. Among them was the filing of a tax cut that he has championed through the pandemic.
But experts say the measure would not pass cash to employees because the president only has the authority to close their collection and not forgive it, which requires Congress to act.
Scythian employers would probably seize the money to avoid a hefty tax return that they still legally owe the government.
