On Sunday, US President Donald Trump signed a $2.3 trillion pandemic aid and spending package into a law, which helped in reinstating unemployment benefits to millions of Americans.
Trump is set to leave the office of the President on January 20 after the monumental victory of Joe Biden in the November elections. He approved the bill due to immense pressure from lawmakers on both sides which earlier he threatened to block the bill.
The former Republican President demanded that Congress change the bill to increase the size of stimulus checks for grappling Americans from $600 to $2,000 and also cut some other spending.
It was not clear why Trump changed his mind on the stimulus package who has refused to acknowledge his defeat to Biden.
Trump after signing the bill behind closed doors at his beachside club said, “a strong message that makes clear to Congress that wasteful items need to be removed”.
He further said, “Much more money is coming” but didn’t provide anything to back his promise.
A source familiar with the situation said that few advisors had persuaded him to capitulate as they did not see the point of refusing but White House officials have been unforthcoming about Trump’s thinking.
From a long time, Democrats have agreed with the $2,000 payments but many Republicans disagreed, making it unlikely that the figures will be revised upwards while Trump is in office.
Economists agree the financial aid in the bill should be higher to get the economy moving smoothly again but the instant support for Americans hit by coronavirus lockdowns is needed immediately.
14 million people enjoyed unemployment benefits through pandemic programs which retired on Saturday, but it will soon restart again as Trump has signed the bill.
The package includes $1.4 trillion in spending to fund government agencies. On Tuesday, the partial government shutdown would have begun putting millions of government workers’ income at risk, if Trump had not signed the legislation.
The relief package also extends a moratorium on evictions that was due to expire on December 31, it helps small business payrolls, provides funding to help schools re-open, support for transport industry and vaccine distribution.
Global share prices went up in response to the news that Trump had signed the plan and saving the government from a crisis. US S&P futures and Japan’s Nikkei index gained around 0.4%, and gold prices rose nearly 1%.
