American President Donald Trump has signed a $900 billion pandemic relief package that will deliver long-sought cash to businesses and individuals. It also averts a government shutdown. Trump announced the signing in a statement on Sunday night. The massive bill includes $1.4 trillion to fund government agencies through September and contains other end-of-session priorities such as money for cash-starved transit systems and an increase in food stamp benefits.
Democrats are promising more aid to come once President-elect Joe Biden takes office, but Republicans are signalling a wait-and-see approach.
Ahead of the final decision, Trump blindsided members of both parties and upended months of negotiations when he demanded last week that the package -- already passed by the House and Senate by large margins and believed to have Trump's support -- be revised to include larger relief checks and scaled-back spending.
If he would have continued his opposition, the federal government would have run out of money at 12.01 am on Tuesday, while he spent the holidays golfing in Florida. In the face of growing economic hardship and spreading disease, lawmakers urged Trump on Sunday to sign the legislation immediately, then have Congress follow up with additional aid.
Aside from unemployment benefits and relief payments to families, money for vaccine distribution, businesses, cash-starved public transit systems and more is on the line. Protection against evictions also hang in the balance.
Washington had been reeling since Trump turned on the deal, without warning, after it had won sweeping approval in both houses of Congress and after the White House had assured Republican leaders that Trump would support it.
Instead, he assailed the bill's plan to provide $600 COVID-19 relief checks to most Americans -- insisting it should be $2,000 -- and took issue with spending included in an attached $1.4 trillion government funding bill to keep the federal government operating through September.
His opposition had consequences, as two federal programs providing unemployment aid expired on Saturday.
About 9.5 million people had been relying on the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program that expired altogether on Saturday. That program made unemployment insurance available to freelancers, gig workers and others normally not eligible. After receiving their last checks, those recipients would not have been able to file for more aid.