Donald Trump signed the $900 billion-plus COVID relief package on Sunday (December 27) evening, which was too late to prevent unemployment aid from lapsing.
In a statement to supporters, Trump claimed that his trade-offs for signing the bill was lawmakers agreeing to "focus strongly on the very substantial voter fraud which took place in the November 3 Presidential election." Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made no mention of this promise during his announcement that Trump signed the legislation.
Rep. Adam Kinzinger, a Republican from Illinois, slammed Trump for delaying the signing of the bill after many believed it was clear he would sign it after Congress passed the bill a week ago. Kinzinger told CNN's "State of the Union," "To play this old switcheroo game...I don't get the point. I don't understand what's being done, why, unless it's just to create chaos and show power and be upset because you lost the election."
Last week, Trump threatened to veto the bill to increase the relief checks from $600 to $2,000 for individuals and up to $4,000 for families. While Democrats were on board with the decision and ready to put it into action, Trump's Republican counterparts blocked Majority Leader Steny Hoyer’s attempt to make that switch on Thursday (December 24). The $600 checks are not expected to hit bank accounts until another week.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi responded to the GOP blocking bigger checks, stating, "House and Senate Democrats have repeatedly fought for bigger checks for the American people, which House and Senate Republicans have repeatedly rejected—first, during our negotiations when they said that they would not go above $600 and now, with this act of callousness on the Floor."
Source: TMZ
