The US President coming to Washington, not signing the bill
Shafaq News/Republican anger continues to grow over US president refusal to sign off on a $900bn Covid relief package.
It comes just hours after unemployment benefits for millions of Americans struggling to make ends meet during the pandemic expired, plunging the livelihoods of people across the country into further uncertainty.
Trump has been roundly condemned for refusing to green-light the package, which took a bitterly divided Congress months to agree.
The country, Congress and many of Trump's closest aides and advisers have remained in the dark as to what he intends to do.
He tweeted Sunday night, "Good news on Covid Relief Bill! Information to follow," and a private ballroom at Mar-a-Lago is set up for him to finally sign the relief package and government funding bill -- should he decide to do so, according to a CNN source.
Because Trump refused to sign the Covid-19 relief bill -- that his own aides helped write -- by Saturday night, millions of Americans who were facing their last payment are left without certainty of if or when they'll receive more assistance. An estimated 12 million Americans who have been laid off are set to receive their final unemployment payment for the week ending this weekend, according to The Century Foundation. The legislation that Trump refuses to sign would extend the number of weeks people can stay on two key pandemic unemployment programs and increase weekly benefits by $300 for all through mid-March.
In another context, Trump announced Sunday that he’ll hold a rally in Georgia on the eve of a crucial Senate run-off — and will be in the nation’s capital when Congress votes to certify the electoral vote.
“On behalf of two GREAT Senators, I will be going to Georgia on Monday night, January 4th, to have a big and wonderful RALLY,” he said on Twitter.
It’s “So important for our country that they win!” He added.
That would put him in the state one day before GOP incumbent senators David Purdue and Kelly Loeffler are facing a run-off election, with Republican control of the Senate hanging in the balance.
Democrats Jon Ossoff and the Rev. Raphael Warnock are vying to eliminate the GOP’s two-seat majority in the legislative chamber.
The two have raised more than $200 million between them — by far the most in a Senate race this year. More than 2 million Georgians have cast early votes in the race.
Trump staged his first post-election rally in Georgia on Dec. 5.
He also tweeted that he will be in DC on Jan. 6 — when lawmakers are due to confirm his electoral college loss to former Vice President Joe Biden, a loss Trump has refused to accept.
“See you in Washington, DC, on January 6th,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “Don’t miss it. Information to follow!”
