The president had demanded changes to the stimulus bill but on Sunday signaled he would release the stimulus funds after all
President Trump has indicated that he will sign the stimulus bill into law before Monday night’s deadline and avert a government shutdown, two people familiar with his plans said Sunday evening, a move that would release $900 billion in stimulus funds as soon as possible. The people spoke on the condition of anonymity because the matter remained fluid and they weren’t authorized to disclose Trump’s plans. They said Trump had repeatedly changed his mind on the matter. Trump’s new decision to sign the bill came less than a week after he demanded changes to it and had suggested he would refuse to sign it into law. On Tuesday, he referred to the bill as a “disgrace” but he signaled on Sunday he would sign it after all. The government was set to shut down on Tuesday if Trump did not sign the bill into law. The spending package also included a new round of stimulus checks, unemployment aid, and small business assistance, among other things. Trump hinted that there had been a development on Sunday, when he wrote on Twitter that there was “Good news on Covid Relief Bill. Information to follow!” Congress overwhelmingly passed the bipartisan bill on Monday night, and Trump released a video on Tuesday demanding changes. He said, among other things, that the bill should have authorized stimulus checks of $2,000 per person instead of the $600 payments that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had secured. Trump also wanted spending cuts to be included in the package. Before the video was posted, Mnuchin had said that the stimulus checks could be sent as soon as this week. It’s unclear whether the roughly week-long delay would push back the issuance of the payments. Trump’s declaration that he wanted changes made to the bill stunned congressional leaders and even many of his own aides. The spending and stimulus bill had been negotiated with Mnuchin and other White House officials, and the treasury secretary had praised the legislation in a Monday CNBC appearance. Over the weekend, Trump issued a number of tweets appearing to continue his insistence on the $2,000 checks. Approving the checks, however, didn’t seem politically feasible in time to avert a shutdown on Tuesday.
