US President Donald Trump signs executive orders on coronavirus economic relief
US President Donald Trump has signed executive orders Saturday providing additional coronavirus economic relief, a day after the White House failed to reach a deal with Congress.
The executive orders establish a payroll tax holiday through to the end of the year for Americans earning less than £76,000 a year.
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As part of the relief, there is an extension to enhanced employment benefits that expired last week, but it's at a reduced level of around £300 instead of the prior £470.
The documents also defer student loan payments through to the end of the year and continues eviction moratoriums.
The orders, which Trump announced in a press conference at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, come after talks with Democrats over another round of assistance hit an impasse Friday.
"It's $400 [£370] a week, and we're doing it without the Democrats," Trump said, asking states to cover 25% of the cost.
It was not immediately clear where the federal portion would come from - though the president suggested he was looking to use unspent funds from previous coronavirus relief bills - and Trump said it would be up to states to determine how much, if any of it to fund.
Trump said the orders "will take care of pretty much this entire situation, as we know it."
But they are far smaller in scope than congressional legislation, and even aides acknowledged they didn't meet the needs of all that was required.