The bill was passed with what lawmakers had thought was Trump’s blessing, and after months of negotiations with his administration. It was unclear what, if anything, Trump accomplished with his delay, beyond angering all sides and empowering Democrats to continue their push for higher relief checks, which his own party opposes. In his statement, Trump repeated his frustrations with the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) relief bill for providing only $600 checks to most Americans instead of the $2,000 that his fellow Republicans already rejected. “I will sign the Omnibus and Covid package with a strong message that makes clear to Congress that wasteful items need to be removed,” Trump said in the statement. Lawmakers now have breathing room to continue debating whether the relief checks should be as large as the president has demanded.

Source: Manila Times December 28, 2020 08:37 UTC