Trump now says he is ready to 'IMMEDIATELY' sign bills for stimulus checks, small business relief


Hours after President Trump said he instructed Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to stop negotiating with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on a coronavirus relief bill, Trump tweeted that the House and Senate should "IMMEDIATELY" approve legislation giving $25 billion to the airline industry and $135 billion to small businesses through the Paycheck Protection Program.
"Both of these will be fully paid for with unused funds from the CARES Act," Trump said. "Have this money. I will sign now!" He followed up with a second tweet saying if he is "sent a Stand Alone Bill for Stimulus Checks ($1,200), they will go to our great people IMMEDIATELY. I am ready to sign right now. Are you listening Nancy?"
Earlier in the day, Trump tweeted that he ordered his representatives "to stop negotiating until after the election when, immediately after I win, we will pass a major Stimulus Bill that focuses on hardworking Americans and Small Business." He claimed that Pelosi was asking for "$2.4 Trillion Dollars to bailout poorly run, high crime, Democrat States, money that is in no way related to COVID-19. We made a very generous offer of $1.6 Trillion Dollars and, as usual, she is not negotiating in good faith."
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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