Some of the lowest-income Americans would likely miss out on the $400 weekly unemployment payments President Donald Trump is seeking to create via an executive memorandum issued Saturday, according to the Washington Post, as serious questions remain about how the initiative would be funded.
G. Washington on a 1 dollar bill combined with Corona / Covid-19 newspaper headlines and a red ... [+] 
There's a massive amount of uncertainty over the program, both in terms of legality and funding. Trump has faced serious criticism over whether his move to bypass Congress is constitutional, and it's not clear how cash-strapped states that are dealing with historic revenue drops would be able to fund their portion of the payments.
"It's utter nonsense to suggest that the Trump administration is somehow targeting poor people," Judd Deere, a White House spokesman, told The Washington Post. "The president is acting where the Democrats are putting people's futures at risk."
Trump authorized the payments, which are supposed to go through the end of the year, as part of three memoranda and an executive order he signed Saturday to provide economic assistance after Republicans and Democrats in Congress ground to a deadlock in negotiations over a new stimulus package. The issue of federal unemployment payments were one of the big holdups. Americans have been without the $600 a week payments since the end of July, when the program set up by the $2 trillion CARES Act expired.
Democrats seem likely to challenge the legality of Trump's executive actions in court.
10.2% - That's the current U.S. unemployment rate, according to the Labor Department. The unemployment rate in February was at 3.5%.
Trump's executive orders spark confusion among businesses and state officials as Democrats assail them as 'unworkable' (The Washington Post)
$600 Unemployment Check Cut To $300 Under Trump Executive Orders-States Asked To Add $100 (Forbes)
Dems Slam Trump's Executive Actions, Biden Calls Payroll Tax Cut 'A Reckless War On Social Security' (Forbes)
Pelosi Softens Stance On $600 A Week Unemployment Checks, Says 'There's Room To Negotiate' (Forbes)
...
All Rights Reserved © 2024
