Trump signs virus relief bill after panning $600 checks

President Donald Trump signed a bill containing $900b in pandemic relief, backing down from last-minute demands that undercut his own negotiating team, risked a government shutdown and delayed widely supported economic aid as coronavirus cases continue to rise. The legislation Congress passed Dec. 21 includes $1.4t in government spending to fund federal agencies through the end of the fiscal year in September. The government had been operating on temporary spending authority that expires after the end of the day Monday. The combined $2.3t package was the product of intense negotiations, from which Trump was largely absent until he surprised lawmakers of both parties by demanding bigger stimulus payments for individuals after the bill was already passed. In signing the bill, Trump demanded a vote in Congress to replace $600 in stimulus payments with $2,000 -- a non-binding request that is unlikely to pass both chambers. That demand also plays into Democrats’ hands. House Democrats were already planning a vote Monday to increase payments to individuals, allowing Senate Democrats to pressure Republican leader Mitch McConnell to take up the House bill without other unrelated provisions Trump requested. The top Democrat in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, said that once that House bill passes $2,000 payments, he’ll move for passage in the upper chamber. “No Democrats will object,” Schumer tweeted. “Will Senate Republicans?” The virus relief package will likely be the last major legislation signed by Trump, whose re-election hopes were dashed in large part due to his handling of the pandemic. Lawmakers approved the government funding and additional relief after months of inaction, followed by weeks of grueling negotiations. Business leaders had called on Congress to pass more stimulus, saying that restaurants, theaters, mom-and-pop stores and airlines were being decimated by closures and restrictions as Covid-19 cases spiked in the US.<br/>