Just two days after President Donald Trump abruptly blew up bipartisan coronavirus relief talks, the Labor Department reported Thursday that around 1.3 million additional Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week as the U.S. economy continues to falter without the kind of stimulus that experts say is necessary to stem the crisis and relieve widespread hunger, housing insecurity, and joblessness.
“Terribly high numbers of jobless claims point to a slowing recovery, with over 25 million collecting benefits,” tweeted Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.). “Trump has abandoned them.”
The president’s sudden decision Tuesday to end coronavirus negotiations via Twitter a day after he departed Walter Reed National Military Medical Center imperiled the prospect that any additional stimulus checks, unemployment benefits, state and local aid, and rental assistance will be approved ahead of next month’s presidential election. Continue reading.