Donald Trump refuses to sign relief Bill, seeks $2,000 stimulus payment

Threat throws into turmoil a bipartisan effort by Congress to help millions

President Donald Trump threatened on Tuesday to not sign an $892-billion coronavirus relief Bill that includes desperately needed money for individual Americans, saying it should be amended to increase the amount in the stimulus checks.

 

US government operations are being funded on a temporary basis through December 28, waiting for the $1.4 trillion in federal spending for fiscal 2021 that is also part of the bill.

 

Failure to either pass another stopgap Bill or override a possible Trump veto of the legislation could result in a partial government shutdown. The threat by the outgoing Republican president, who has less than a month left in office, throws into turmoil a bipartisan effort in Congress to provide help for people whose lives have been upended by the pandemic.

 

“The Bill they are now planning to send back to my desk is much different than anticipated,” Trump said in a video posted on Twitter. “It really is a disgrace.”

 

The US House of Representatives and the Senate both passed the legislation overwhelmingly on Monday night.

 

Trump said he wants Congress to increase the amount in the stimulus checks to $2,000 for individuals or $4,000 for couples, instead of the “ridiculously low” $600 for individuals that is in the Bill.

 

Trump also complained about money provided for foreign countries, the Smithsonian Institution and fish breeding, among other spending that is in the part of the legislation to fund the US government. “I'm also asking Congress to immediately get rid of the wasteful and unnecessary items from this legislation, and to send me a suitable Bill, or else the next administration will have to deliver a Covid relief package,” said Trump.

 

Trump pardons 15, commutes 5 sentences

 

Trump issued a slew of pardons on Tuesday, including for two people convicted as part of former Special Counsel Mueller’s Russia probe and for two former Republican congressmen convicted of financial crimes.             

 

Pfizer to supply US with additional 100 mn doses

 

Pfizer and BioNTech will supply the US with an additional 100 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine under a new agreement. The drugmakers said Wednesday that they expect to deliver all the doses by July 31. Pfizer already has a contract to supply the government with 100 million doses of its vaccine.