The daily business briefing: December 24, 2020

Trump criticism sparks uncertainty over coronavirus relief package, Pfizer promises another 100 million vaccine doses, and more

Pfizer building.
(Image credit: Jonas Roosens/Getty Images.)

1. Trump opposition upends coronavirus-relief plan

Republicans scrambled on Wednesday to salvage the $900 billion coronavirus relief package after President Trump slammed it as a "disgrace" filled with spending unrelated to the pandemic and demanded that lawmakers increase stimulus checks to individuals from $600 to $2,000. Trump's suggestion that he would not sign the legislation without revisions threw its future in doubt as many Americans stand to lose extra pandemic-related unemployment benefits this week. The relief package also is tied to a $1.4 trillion spending deal needed to avert a government shutdown. Congressional Democrats, who tried for months to push through a multi-trillion dollar relief package, are calling Trump's bluff and moving Thursday, Christmas Eve, to propose a stand-alone bill to provide $2,000 stimulus checks.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Harold Maass, The Week US

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.