President Trump on Saturday announced multiple executive actions intended to extend economic aid, as Congress remains in a stalemate over the next coronavirus relief package. The measures will likely face legal challenges, however, as Trump attempts to bypass the legislative policy-making process.
The president said during a press conference at his golf club in Bedminister, New Jersey, that, via executive order, he would unilaterally renew expanded unemployment benefits, hold off student loan payments, and extend a moratorium on evictions. Additionally, Trump said the action authorizes the Treasury Department to defer payroll taxes for Americans making less than $100,000 per year. He suggested he may extend the deferral if he's re-elected in November and ultimately terminate the tax, although his stance on the matter is at odds with both parties in Congress.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
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.
-
Book reviews: ‘Red Scare: Blacklists, McCarthyism, and the Making of Modern America’ and ‘How to End a Story: Collected Diaries, 1978–1998’Feature A political ‘witch hunt’ and Helen Garner’s journal entries
-
The backlash against ChatGPT's Studio Ghibli filterThe Explainer The studio's charming style has become part of a nebulous social media trend
-
Why are student loan borrowers falling behind on payments?Today's Big Question Delinquencies surge as the Trump administration upends the program
-
WHCA rejects White House press seating grabSpeed Read The White House Correspondents' Association objected to the Trump administration's bid to control where journalists sit during press briefings
-
Trump sends more migrants to El Salvador jailSpeed Read Another 17 Venezuelan alleged gang members have been deported to a notorious prison
-
Trump 'not joking' about unconstitutional 3rd termSpeed Read The president seems to be serious about seeking a third term in 2028
-
The JFK files: the truth at last?In The Spotlight More than 64,000 previously classified documents relating the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy have been released by the Trump administration
-
Supreme Court upholds 'ghost gun' restrictionsSpeed Read Ghost guns can be regulated like other firearms
-
Trump sets 25% tariffs on auto importsSpeed Read The White House says the move will increase domestic manufacturing. But the steep import taxes could also harm the US auto industry.
-
Trump allies urge White House to admit chat blunderSpeed Read Even pro-Trump figures are criticizing The White House's handling of the Signal scandal
-
Waltz takes blame for texts amid calls for Hegseth ousterSpeed Read Democrats are calling for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and national security adviser Michael Waltz to step down
