President Trump has signed 4 executive orders since Saturday detailing relief for Americans amid economic fallout from COVID-19.
Trump announced that there will be a supplemental unemployment payement of $400 per week for unemployed Americans, just short of the prior $600 weekly benefit that ended on July 31. He also revealed student loan reliefs and protections from evictions for homeowners and renters are to come.
Along with these relief plans, he also signed "a payroll tax holiday through the end of the year for Americans earning less than $100,000, while promising more relief if he wins a second term." [FOX26].
Trump bashed the Democratic party, saying that "Democrats are obstruction all of it, therefore I'm taking executive action... and we're going to save American jobs and provide relief to the American workers." [FOX26].
States are responsible for funding 25% of the $400 per week unemployment benefit, and the federal government will fund the remainder. Trump said that the money would be rapidly distributed, but that will still be up to question.
Many Republicans contested the $400 supplemental unemployment benefits while Democrats fought for the full $600 per week extension, and lost.
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore. stated that "Donald Trump is trying to distract from his failure to extend the $600 federal boost for 30 million unemployed workers by issuing illegal executive orders. This scheme is a classic Donald Trump con: play-acting at leadership while robbing people of the support they desperately need."
Many Americans are still suffering from the turmoil of the worldwide coronavirus pandemic, with minimal end or aid in sight.
President Donald Trump prepares to sign four executive orders during a news conference at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., Saturday, Aug. 8, 2020. Seizing the power of his podium and his pen, Trump on Saturday moved to bypass the nation's elected lawmakers as he claimed the authority to defer payroll taxes and extend an expired unemployment benefit after negotiations with Congress on a new coronavirus rescue package collapsed.(AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
SOURCES: FOX26