President Signs Executive Orders as COVID Relief Negotiations Collapse

After COVID relief negotiations between White House representatives and Democratic congressional leaders reached an impasse, President Trump signed a series of Executive Orders on August 8, 2020, the White House argued would restore lapsed benefits and address some of the pandemic’s economic impacts. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin began negotiations on the next coronavirus stimulus after Senate Republicans introduced a $1 trillion relief package on July 27. The House had passed a broader $3 trillion measure - the Heroes Act - in May. Talks broke down when an agreement could not be reached on unemployment benefits and additional state and local government aid. Trump said that he was open to future talks but in the meantime announced Executive Actions that he argued “will take care of, pretty much, this entire situation.” The Executive Orders signed by President Trump aim to extend the enhanced unemployment benefits and eviction moratorium, to defer payroll tax payments from September through December for people earning less than $100,000, and to extend student loan payment relief. Some of the Executive actions are expected to face legal challenges. Setting aside the legality of the actions, many warn that the directives are too confused to implement. Speaker Pelosi and Senator Schumer said the orders were legally questionable and do no...
Source: Public Policy Reports - Category: Biology Authors: Source Type: news