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Trump relents, signs $900B relief package

By Madison Parry

Despite criticism of the COVID-19 relief and spending bill passed by Congress last week, President Trump signed the package yesterday evening. The bill includes $1.4 trillion in spending and will deliver direct stimulus payments of $600 to individuals, roughly half the amount provided in the spring.

No budge from Congress on its recently-approved COVID-19 relief and spending bill resulted in reluctant final approval from President Trump.

The bill was signed last night on Sunday by Trump despite his criticism of the package.

Included is $900 billion COVID-19 relief and $1.4 trillion spending bill, which will dole out $600 payments to individuals. This is only half of the amount approved in the first spending bill signed in the spring.

Just a day after the bill was passed, Trump called the approved $600 payments “ridiculously low” and a “disgrace,” demanding the amount be raised to $2,000.

With no amendment made to the bill, the president refused to sign the bill for several days.

However, on Dec. 27 President Trump released a statement saying he would sign the omnibus and COVID-19 package because it was his “responsibility to protect the people of our country from the economic devastation and hardship” caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“I am signing this bill to restore unemployment benefits, stop evictions, provide rental assistance, add money for PPP, return our airline workers back to work, add substantially more money for vaccine distribution, and much more,” the statement from the president reads. 

Passed by Congress Dec. 21, the bill includes more funding for providers, vaccine distribution and checks to Americans.