Relief Checks Back on Track After Trump Signs Bill

Amount expected to be $600, though Congress will vote on raising it to $2K
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 28, 2020 12:01 AM CST
Updated Dec 28, 2020 6:11 AM CST
Trump Gives In on COVID Relief Bill
In this Dec. 12, 2020, file photo President Donald Trump walks on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington before boarding Marine One.   (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

After a delay of nearly a week, President Trump on Sunday night backed down, as many had begged him to do, and signed the COVID relief bill. That means the government won't shut down, as would have happened had he not signed by Monday night, Politico reports. It also means Americans will get their relief checks—the $600 figure that Trump was not happy about—though CNBC reports that the House will vote on whether to increase the figure to the $2,000 Trump wants, and Trump said Sunday night that the Senate will vote on that as well. Given Republican opposition in the Senate, the prospect of an increase to $2,000 seems unlikely, per the Hill. The checks were originally supposed to go out this week, but that could be delayed now.

Trump was also not happy with what he called "pork" in the $1.4 trillion government funding bill that was passed alongside the $900 billion coronavirus relief bill, a point he addressed in a statement released Sunday night. "I will sign the Omnibus and Covid package with a strong message that makes clear to Congress that wasteful items need to be removed," says Trump's statement. "I will send back to Congress a redlined version, item by item, accompanied by the formal rescission request to Congress insisting that those funds be removed from the bill." Politico notes Congress does not need to abide by that request, and the Washington Post says lawmakers are likely to ignore it. (Additional unemployment benefits for millions of Americans expired on Saturday.)

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