Trump brands stimulus deal a disgrace as months of work hang in balance
US President Donald Trump threw a sizable spanner into the works of a $900bn stimulus deal last night, branding it a disgrace and threatening to veto the whole accord.
Amongst the outgoing President’s complaints were that the stimulus bill was part of a package to keep Government funded until Septemver, including arts institutions and the payment of foreign aid.
Trump also demanded a more generous direct payment to millions of Americans.
Read more: UK borrowing in November is third-highest ever
The bill as it stands, which requires the President’s signature, offers $600 cheques to all Americans on medium- to low-incomes.
Trump has called for that to be more than tripled to $2000, a move unlikely to please Republicans on Capitol Hill.
The Democrats’ de facto leader on the Hill, Nancy Pelosi, welcomed Trump’s intervention and said her party would put the proposal to the House.
Markets had welcomed the stimulus bill being agreed over the weekend after months of wrangling.
The US is facing a deadly second wave of the Covid-19 outbreak with no clear end in sight other than the rollout of a vaccine.
Read more: Morning Wire’s Big Business Quiz of the Year