Stimulus Check: Donald Trump Signs Coronavirus Relief Bill After Halting $600 Payments

Donald Trump had spent days calling out the coronavirus relief bill passed by Congress on Monday, namely pointing to an excess amount of money being designated for foreign affairs and the low amount included in the stimulus checks. Yet, Trump’s delay of signing off on it came to an end on Sunday night as he put pen to paper and signed the $2.3 trillion relief and government funding bill into law.

One of the reasons Trump had objected to signing the package initially had to do with the $600 stimulus check that would be distributed to eligible individuals and families. He called upon Congress to amend the bill for what he called a “ridiculously low” total amid the pandemic. In April’s relief package, the amount had been $1,200 for eligible recipients, which is why the agreed-upon $600 payments have been so controversial among many Americans.

In his video calling out the COVID relief bill’s deficiencies, Trump referred to the agreement as a “disgrace.” His belittling of the stimulus check was backed up by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who tweeted on Monday evening that she supported Trump’s latest claim, a stark contrast to the usual butting-of-the-heads the two typically engage in on Twitter. “Democrats are ready to bring this to the Floor this week by unanimous consent,” Pelosi wrote. “Let’s do it!” Trump had claimed that a $2,000 check would be much more sufficient for struggling families, though that seems to now be a distant thought with the $600 total being included in the recently-signed bill.

Ahead of his signing, Trump tweeted out on Sunday night that “good news on COVID relief bill” was coming shortly, suggesting that this move would be happening within hours. With the bill now passed through Congress and the President, unemployment benefits will now be extended as part of the coronavirus package. This includes the nearly 12 million people who had just seen their last payment this weekend but will now see the financial support continue to be supplied while jobless.

Some, though, like in the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation programs, may miss out on at least one more check before the end of the year because of the delay in the bill passing. CNN explains that these groups were hindered by the December delay and could see “several weeks” of a break, though the benefits are retroactive.