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Trump continues to block pandemic relief package as millions lose benefits
![Trump continues to block pandemic relief package as millions lose benefits]()
The president indicated he may veto the 5,000-page bill that he calls a ‘disgrace’ which would extend benefits to Americans Trump continues to block pandemic relief package as millions lose benefits
The president indicated he may veto the 5,000-page bill that he calls a ‘disgrace’ which would extend benefits to Americans
As unemployment benefits expired for millions of Americans on Saturday, Donald Trump, who spent Christmas playing golf in Florida, continued to block a $900bn pandemic relief bill that would extend them.
The package, which Congress passed with bipartisan support on Monday after months of negotiations, would keep unemployment benefits in place until March and expand state benefits by $300 a week – as well as extending an evictions moratorium, providing federal loans to small businesses and $600 direct payments to many Americans.
But without Trump’s signature, the entire package – set to be the second biggest in US history – is stalled and the US government now faces a shutdown on Tuesday.
“I simply want to get our great people $2,000, rather than the measly $600 that is now in the bill. Also, stop the billions of dollars in ‘pork’”, he tweeted on Saturday morning.
It comes after he indicated on Tuesday that he might veto the bill, describing it as a “disgrace”.
