FILE PHOTO: US President Donald Trump spoke on August 7, 2020, during a news conference at his golf resort in Bedminster, New Jersey, USA. REUTERS / Joshua Roberts
“Inaction among Congress, POTUS must be taking action to help Americans in need,” the official told Reuters. Trump is due to deliver a news conference at his New Jersey Golf Club at 3:30 pm ET (1930 GMT).
Nearly two-week talks between White House officials and congressional Democrats came to an end on Friday, with the two sides still in addition to $ 2 trillion to prevent the huge human and economic toll on the next step in the United States coronovirus epidemic Has occurred, where it has committed more murders than 160,000 people.
Unemployment payments have increased by $ 600 per week, serving as a lifeline for the millions of Americans who ended the epidemic in late July. Democrats wanted to extend the payment to that amount, while Republicans wanted to cut them, saying that they served as a disruptor to return to work.
Trump said on Friday night that he would sign executive orders in the coming days for increased unemployment benefits, unilaterally suspending payroll taxes, repaying student loans and eviction of rental housing.
Trump initially reduced the risk of the disease and drew criticism for public health-related steps such as social distance and inconsistent messages on the facade.
House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Friday offered to slash a proposed $ 3.4 trillion coronavirus aid package that the House passed in May, but the Senate ignored, if Republicans nearly doubled Would agree more than. $ 1 trillion per-offer.
White House negotiators Treasury Secretary Steven Menuchin and Chief of Staff Mark Meadows rejected the proposal.
His party’s immediate opposition to Senate Chief Leader Mitch McConnell’s $ 1 trillion package unveiled at the end of last month ran, with 20 of the Senate’s 53 Republicans expected to oppose it.
Change of possible course
Democrats have already warned that such executive orders are legally questionable and will likely be challenged in court.
While Trump had reiterated the idea of executive orders to pursue relief, Schumer said Friday that the White House team had acknowledged that power was limited.
“The other option for him is to follow the executive orders, which he himself has accepted. He said that this is not good for us,” Schumer said. “It does not cover the opening of schools. It does not cover testing. It does not work with rental assistance. It does not cover elections. It does not cover a lot of things. ”
The US Constitution empowers Congress on federal spending, so Trump does not have the legal authority to issue legal orders to determine how to spend money on coronoviruses.
But a court battle could take months and Trump first overtook Congress on spending, declaring a national emergency on the US-Mexico border to pay billions for a wall to move billions of dollars from the defense budget She made the promise during her 2016 election campaign.
Congress passed legislation to block him, but the Republican-controlled Senate had very few votes to override his veto – a scenario that would likely replay for 90 days before the November 3 presidential election.
Reporting by Jeff Mason, written by Scott Malone, editing by Franklin Paul and Diane Craft
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