U.S. government heads toward chaotic end to 2020 as Trump fights Congress

[webfact]

U.S. government heads toward chaotic end to 2020 as Trump fights Congress

By Steve Holland and Susan Cornwell

 

U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump descend from Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., December 23, 2020. REUTERS/Tom Brenner

 

PALM BEACH, Fla./WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government headed toward a chaotic last few days of the year as President Donald Trump's refusal to approve a $2.3 trillion financial package caused millions of jobless Americans to lose benefits and threatened to shut down federal agencies due to lack of funding.

 

Trump, who leaves office on Jan. 20 after losing November's election, came under pressure on Sunday from lawmakers on both sides to stop blocking the pandemic aid and government funding bill which was approved by Congress last week.

 

The Republican president has demanded that Congress change the bill to increase the size of stimulus checks for struggling Americans to $2,000 from $600.

 

Many economists agree that the financial aid in the bill should be higher to get the economy moving again but say that immediate support for Americans hit by coronavirus lockdowns is still urgently needed.

 

Unemployment benefits being paid out to about 14 million people through pandemic programs lapsed on Saturday, but could be restarted until mid-March if Trump signs the bill.

 

Adding to the uncertainty, the package includes $1.4 trillion in spending to fund government agencies. If Trump does not sign the legislation, then a partial government shutdown will begin on Tuesday that would put millions of government workers' incomes at risk, unless Congress steps in with a stop-gap measure the president accepts.

 

Republican Senator Pat Toomey told "Fox News Sunday" that Trump should approve the bill now, then push for more unemployment money later.

 

"I understand the president would like to send bigger checks to everybody. I think what he ought to do is sign this bill and then make the case. Congress can pass another bill," Toomey said.

 

"You don't get everything you want, even if you are the president of the United States," he said.

 

After months of wrangling, Republicans and Democrats agreed to the package last weekend, with the support of the White House.

 

Trump stunned Republicans and Democrats alike when he later said he was unhappy with the massive bill, which provides $892 billion in coronavirus financial relief, despite offering no objections to the terms of the deal before Congress voted it through on Monday.

 

Trump spent the Christmas holiday at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. On Sunday morning, he seemed in no rush to try to resolve the standoff with Congress as he spent several hours at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach.

 

He has also complained that the bill gives too much money to special interests, cultural projects and foreign aid.

 

A bipartisan group of lawmakers who were involved in crafting the relief bill urged Trump to sign it immediately. But, they added, if he is determined to veto it, he should do so quickly to "allow those in favor to act before it is too late."

 

"This act will show your support for the American people who are in need of emergency lifelines like food, shelter, unemployment benefits and small business relief during these challenging times," they said in a statement.

 

Senator Bernie Sanders said of the delay: "What the president is doing right now is unbelievably cruel."

 

"We are dealing with an unprecedented moment in American history. So many people are hurting," he told ABC News' "This Week" show. Sanders, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, urged Trump to "finally do the right thing for the American people and stop worrying about his ego."

 

BENEFIT PAYMENTS

Americans are living through a bitter holiday season amid a pandemic that has killed nearly 330,000 people in the United States, with a daily death toll now repeatedly well over 3,000 people, the highest since the pandemic began.

 

The relief package also extends a moratorium on evictions that expires on Dec. 31, refreshes support for small business payrolls, provides funding to help schools re-open and aid for the transport industry and vaccine distribution.

 

Representative Adam Kinzinger, a Republican from Illinois, said Trump’s refusal to sign the economic stimulus bill was difficult to fathom.

 

“I don’t get the point,” Kinzinger told CNN’s “State of the Union." “Unless it’s just to create chaos, and show power, and be upset because you lost the election."

 

The U.S. Congress, which normally is adjourned the last week of December, is preparing to return to work.

 

The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives plans to vote on Monday on legislation providing one-time $2,000 checks to people, but Republican lawmakers are already concerned about the cost of the larger package.

 

Without enactment of the broad relief and funding bill, the U.S. government runs out of money at midnight Dec. 28. If the battle with Trump is not resolved by then, Congress must either pass a stopgap funding bill or federal agencies will not have money to fully operate beginning Tuesday.

 

That scenario could be avoided if both the House and Senate pass a funding bill that is separate from the pandemic legislation and the president signs it by midnight Monday.

 

(Reporting by Steve Holland and Susan Cornwell; Writing by Alistair Bell and Matt Spetalnick; Editing by Daniel Wallis)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-12-28

 

- Whatever you're going through, the Samaritans are here for you

- Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates

[candide]

There's a French expression which would characterise well his behavior: "Après moi, le déluge" 

[Jeffr2]

Heck, it's been 4 years of chaos! 

 

MPBA!!!!  Make Politics Boring Again!!

[PatOngo]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

"You don't get everything you want, even if you are the president of the United States,"  

Just watch the baby clown throw the toys out of the pram! What a despicable man child!

[Pattaya Spotter]

Hold out for 2k and all will be okay.

Edited December 27, 2020 by Pattaya Spotter

[Jeffr2]

14 minutes ago, Pattaya Spotter said:

Hold out for 2k and everything will be okay.

I'd love it.  But Mitch won't allow it.  Best to write a letter to him explaining your opinion.

[placeholder]

1 hour ago, Pattaya Spotter said:

Hold out for 2k and all will be okay.

All will be okay for those whom it already is.

Stimulus in Limbo, but Not the Rent or Utility Bills

Financially pressed Americans looked forward to extended unemployment benefits and a $600 check. Now they are waiting to see if the president will sign the stimulus bill.

Stimulus in Limbo, but Not the Rent or Utility Bills - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

 

[heybruce]

"Adding to the uncertainty, the package includes $1.4 trillion in spending to fund government agencies. If Trump does not sign the legislation, then a partial government shutdown will begin on Tuesday that would put millions of government workers' incomes at risk, unless Congress steps in with a stop-gap measure the president accepts."

 

Trump's last major act in government will be to shut down the government.  He's a spoiled child doing everything he can to wreck the Biden administration before it begins.

[Tug]

48 minutes ago, Pattaya Spotter said:

Hold out for 2k and all will be okay.

Even if they got it past Mitch McConnell (they won’t)imo Donald would just move the goal posts this is about punishing America for rejecting trump ,elections have consequences he is what he is the sooner this fiasco is in the rear view mirror the better 

[Chomper Higgot]

I’m sure this is working wonders for the Georgia run-off.

 

And what about the ‘Mar-a-Largo’ bit, putting aside has no legal right to reside there, will he bother returning to the WH or is this his way of avoiding his final ‘in office’ humiliation?!

 

 

[ChouDoufu]

22 minutes ago, heybruce said:

"Adding to the uncertainty, the package includes $1.4 trillion in spending to fund government agencies. If Trump does not sign the legislation, then a partial government shutdown will begin on Tuesday that would put millions of government workers' incomes at risk, unless Congress steps in with a stop-gap measure the president accepts."

 

Trump's last major act in government will be to shut down the government.  He's a spoiled child doing everything he can to wreck the Biden administration before it begins.

 

ohmygosh!

 

i certainly hope it doesn't affect his lifetime salary, his lifetime full-service medical care, his lifetime secret service protection, his lifetime of security details paying to stay at his hotels and rent his golf carts.....

 

maga, baby, maga!

[Dumbastheycome]

2 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

I’m sure this is working wonders for the Georgia run-off.

 

And what about the ‘Mar-a-Largo’ bit, putting aside has no legal right to reside there, will he bother returning to the WH or is this his way of avoiding his final ‘in office’ humiliation?!

 

 

Maybe he will employ himself as a Green Keeper with accommodation as salary ? ????

[ChouDoufu]

enjoy the golf, mister president!

 

 

December is the deadliest month in the US since the coronavirus pandemic began -- and projections for January are 'nightmarish,' expert says

 

December has been the nation's deadliest month since the Covid-19 pandemic's start -- with more than 63,000 Americans lost to the virus in the past 26 days.

 

In comparison, the entire month of November saw about 36,964 deaths.

 

The death toll comes on the heels of several brutal months, with Covid-19 ravaging communities from coast to coast, crippling hospital systems and prompting new widespread restrictions.

 

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/12/27/health/us-coronavirus-sunday/index.html

 

 

geeze!  at this rate, china's gonna sue the united states for not containing the virus!

[Chomper Higgot]

9 minutes ago, Dumbastheycome said:

Maybe he will employ himself as a Green Keeper with accommodation as salary ? ????

He’ll not do that, he’s an American, Trump doesn’t employ Americans.

[Sujo]

1 hour ago, Pattaya Spotter said:

Hold out for 2k and all will be okay.

He didnt. He just signed it.

 

Trump disappoints you again,

[ChakaKhan]

So this is how he Made America Great Again?.....maybe just referring to failed pandemic of 1918....

 

Half of GOP congress can tell u stories as most are still alive..."Back in my day, we didnt have Fox or Maga".....

[placeholder]

Trump just lost. Not playing 3 dimensional chess. Not playing 3 dimensional checkers. But at 2 dimensional tic-tac-toe.

[mtls2005]

12 minutes ago, Sujo said:

He didnt. He just signed it.

 

Trump disappoints you again,

 

Well, trump says that mitch will push individual bills for $2,000 (+ $ 1,400?), and Sec. 230.

[webfact]

BREAKING

 

Trump signs pandemic aid and spending bill, averting government shutdown

By Steve Holland and Susan Cornwell

 

FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump departs on travel to West Point, New York from the South Lawn at the White House in Washington, U.S., December 12, 2020. REUTERS/Cheriss May

 

PALM BEACH, Fla./WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday signed into law a $2.3 trillion pandemic aid and spending package, officials said, restoring unemployment benefits to millions of Americans and averting a partial federal government shutdown.

 

Trump, who leaves office on Jan. 20 after losing November's election, backed down from his threat to block the bill, which was approved Congress last week, after he came under intense pressure from lawmakers on both sides.

 

The Republican president, who golfed on Sunday and remained out of public view even as the potential government shutdown loomed, had demanded that Congress change the bill to increase the size of stimulus checks for struggling Americans to $2,000 from $600.

 

It was not immediately clear why Trump changed his mind as his resistance to the massive legislative package promised a chaotic final stretch of his presidency.

 

White House officials have been tight-lipped about Trump's thinking but a source familiar with the situation said some advisers had urged him to relent because they did not see the point of refusing.

 

"Good news on Covid Relief Bill. Information to follow!" Trump said in a cryptic message on Twitter earlier on Sunday evening. But he offered no explanation.

 

Democrats are on board with the $2,000 payments but many Republicans have opposed it in the past. Many economists agree the financial aid in the bill should be higher to get the economy moving again but say that immediate support for Americans hit by coronavirus lockdowns is still urgently needed.

 

Unemployment benefits being paid out to about 14 million people through pandemic programs lapsed on Saturday, but will be restarted now that Trump has signed the bill.

 

The package includes $1.4 trillion in spending to fund government agencies. If Trump had not signed the legislation, then a partial government shutdown would have begun on Tuesday that would have put millions of government workers' incomes at risk.

 

(Reporting by Steve Holland and Susan Cornwell; Writing by Alistair Bell and Matt Spetalnick; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Diane Craft)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-12-28

 

- Whatever you're going through, the Samaritans are here for you

- Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates

[Sujo]

7 minutes ago, mtls2005 said:

 

Well, trump says that mitch will push individual bills for $2,000 (+ $ 1,400?), and Sec. 230.

Which the dems already agreed to $2000. So the only pushing mitch has to do is on his own party.

 

What did trump gain from delaying the signing?

 

Looks like trump supporters are waiting for the talkng points before posting.

Edited December 28, 2020 by Sujo

[Pattaya Spotter]

26 minutes ago, Sujo said:

He didnt. He just signed it.

 

Trump disappoints you again,

Nope...I trust his judgment and leadership in signing the bill; the President decided it's the best way forward for the moment. So sorry to disappoint you that I'm not disappointed. 

Edited December 28, 2020 by Pattaya Spotter

[Walker88]

Nothing says "I only care about me, me, me", which is pure 45, like the fact he has now spent more than 290 days golfing, at a cost to the US Taxpayer, according to the Office of Management and Budget, of over $158,000,000.

 

The guy will throw people's lives in turmoil, during an epidemic which he exacerbated by gross inaction and revolting mendacity (the Woodward tapes proves 'what he knew and when he knew it', to borrow the line from Howard Baker), but has no problem spending $158 million of the people's money just so he can go cheat on the golf course.

 

Such a total lack of empathy and concern for only himself suggests the psychopathy so many mental health professional have said characterizes the guy.

 

 

[placeholder]

2 minutes ago, Pattaya Spotter said:

Nope...I trust his judgment and leadership in signing the bill. He decided its the best way forward for the moment. So sorry to disappoint you that I'm not disappointed. 

There's a reason that this kind of trust is called "blind".

[herfiehandbag]

54 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

I’m sure this is working wonders for the Georgia run-off.

 

And what about the ‘Mar-a-Largo’ bit, putting aside has no legal right to reside there, will he bother returning to the WH or is this his way of avoiding his final ‘in office’ humiliation?!

 

 

Well, if the US Government runs out of cash at midnight tonight, presumably Air Force 1 will be grounded! I suppose he could catch a train (do they still have long distance trains) or rent a car...

[harada]

Lindsay Graham has obviously given him his Mum-Mum’s and his pacifier and said, there there never mind,

[Srikcir]

Trump finally signed on Sunday the covid relief bill originally passed by Congress. 

 

[rwill]

The bill passed by a large enough margin that a veto could be easily overturned by congress as soon as they meet again.

 

[Jeffr2]

Just now, rwill said:

The bill passed by a large enough margin that a veto could be easily overturned by congress as soon as they meet again.

 

That would be political suicide for some.  No guarantee they'd vote to overturn a veto...for the first time in his presidency.

[Eric Loh]

30 minutes ago, Pattaya Spotter said:

Nope...I trust his judgment and leadership in signing the bill; the President decided it's the best way forward for the moment. So sorry to disappoint you that I'm not disappointed. 

Did you not say this?

 

I don't care what "millions" of Americans think...I want my 2k!

 

What happen now that your President has gone soft and sign the original bill. You disappointed that his leadership was all sham and fake and you wouldn't get your 2K. You are hilarious. 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

2 hours ago, Pattaya Spotter said:

Hold out for 2k and all will be okay.

 

Trump = chaos.

 

He just signed the bipartisan $600 payment relief bill he himself called "a disgrace" last week, with all the foreign aid funding that his administration first proposed and then derided.

 

Unfortunately, we all know who the disgrace is here, and he's soon headed for the presidential unemployment line.

 

Edited December 28, 2020 by TallGuyJohninBKK