This seemed fairly inevitable and we have been quietly preparing ourselves for it for the past few days. President Trump may have blustered and ranted and raved but we knew what the end game was going to be. He’s signed the bill, no worries there.
The proclamations of doom and gloom were a bit premature, for sure.
Axios has the scoop, as they wanted everyone to know what to watch for and why it mattered. So what do they want us to watch for?
“While Trump signed the current bill providing for $600 checks for most Americans hours before a midnight government shutdown deadline, he will continue his push to bring that amount to $2,000, according to two sources familiar with the planning,” says Axios.
It matters because “Trump’s delay in signing the $900 billion coronavirus relief bill and $1.4 trillion government funding measure caused unemployment benefits for millions of Americans to lapse overnight”, which is terrifying to consider.
If you are anything like us, you are probably wondering about the sudden change of heart that Trump has experienced.
Trump may come across as a mean person to some but underneath all of the bluster is a man who simply wants to be liked. It’s at the core of his complaints about fairness. He probably took a long, hard look in the mirror, realized that he was about to become extremely unpopular, and thought better of it.
Millions of Americans would have been adversely affected by a refusal to sign the bill. Trump also secured a vague promise about a continued investigation of the voting fraud but we are not about to hold our breath on that.
Pelosi gets to collect a much-needed win in the meantime but the bill is burdened with all sorts of unnecessary expenditures.
The American people are only going to receive direct payments of $600 this time around, even after Trump pushed for $2,000 apiece. Now, the question becomes a simple one. Did the master of making a great deal really do his best here? There’s no way that anyone can look at what has happened here as any sort of victory for Trump.
He did not get the checks he asked for, nor did he receive any sort of ironclad pledge about the promises of Senate investigations. It comes across like he took a wild swipe in the dark and hoped for the best. Maybe he can use this to his advantage in a future campaign.
“I fought for you guys! I wanted to give out a much larger check but I was blocked each and every step of the way!”
“I will sign the Omnibus and Covid package with a strong message that makes clear to Congress that wasteful items need to be removed. I will send back to Congress a redlined version, item by item,” said Trump in a statement after the bill was signed. The Impoundment Control Act of 1977 is explicitly referenced in the statement, too.
STATEMENT FROM PRESIDENT: " I will sign the Omnibus and Covid package with a strong message that makes clear to Congress that wasteful items need to be removed. I will send back to Congress a redlined version, item by item." pic.twitter.com/yjK3K3MJwV
— Samantha-Jo Roth (@SamanthaJoRoth) December 28, 2020
He can lay out a list of demands if he would like but that does not mean that Congress needs to address any of them. Since he’s already on his way out regardless, it is hard to see why anyone would feel compelled to listen to what he has to say.
Sure, the opponents are going to say that he had to cave in on these demands but at least he tried to fight for the American people. That’s more than we can say about a lot of other politicians.
He was able to avert a government shutdown and keep Americans from losing out on all sorts of valuable benefits. Those who are receiving unemployment and looking to keep a roof over their heads are happy with the assistance that they have been given.
We just hope that Congress is able to get a better handle on all of the issues that they are facing going forward. It’s high time they did.
