Last-ditch negotiations over a new coronavirus relief package failed to yield a deal.
President Donald Trump on Saturday announced he would move forward with multiple executive actions designed to provide relief to millions of financially struggling Americans after talks between his aides and Democratic leaders on a new pandemic relief package broke down this week.
Trump laid out four actions that he said would cut taxes for workers through the end of the year, extend unemployment benefits but at a reduced rate, renew a moratorium on evictions during the pandemic, and defer student loan payments and interest until the end of the year.
But Trump’s moves — one executive order and three presidential memorandum to federal agencies — don’t go as far as some White House officials had suggested they would in recent days. And the failure by the White House and Democratic congressional leaders fails to resolve questions over government support for schools and businesses that hope to reopen to this fall or provide immunity from lawsuits sought by Republicans on Capitol Hill. Continue reading.