President Donald Trump signed four executive orders Saturday that he said would provide economic relief during the current recession caused by the coronavirus. The orders include deferring payroll tax, extending enhanced unemployment benefits (while lowering them from $600 to $400), extending a moratorium on evictions, and assisting with student loans. The federal government would pay 75 percent of the enhanced unemployment benefit, with state governments taking care of the other 25 percent, Trump said.
The executive orders follow the failure of the Democrats and Republicans to agree on another COVID-19 stimulus package by Friday's deadline.
Even before that missed deadline, Trump had said he was considering an executive order to push a few specific relief measures through. Trump said Friday that he wouldn't immediately sign an order and that his administration was working in "good faith" to reach an agreement with Democratic leaders. Trump added that he could sign next week, though White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had recommended that Trump move forward with executive action this weekend.
The Republican-proposed HEALS Act left negotiators unable to find common ground on issues like the enhanced unemployment benefits, the eviction moratorium extension and the amount of relief aid offered to state and local governments. In the wake of the expiration of the CARES Act, lawmakers agree that Americans need more help getting through the financial fallout of the pandemic.
Here's everything we know so far about Trump's executive orders.
What Trump's executive orders include
During a press conference Saturday, Trump gave an overview of the new executive actions. One order calls for a $400 weekly unemployment benefit to replace the $600 weekly benefit Americans received under the newly expired CARES Act. Trump also signed orders to extend the moratorium on evictions and assist with student loan deferral of monthly payments and interest through the end of the year. The fourth executive order seeks to defer payroll tax payments, starting Aug. 1, retroactively, through December for people earning less than $100,000.
What are the legal limitations?
It might seem like executive orders from the president are the final word -- since the actions aren't subject to congressional approval -- but it's more complicated than that. The Constitution gives Congress control over federal spending, so Trump doesn't have the legal authority to issue binding executive orders about how money should be spent on the coronavirus.
An executive order can act like a federal law in some circumstances, but Congress can pass a new law to override the executive order. However, the new law would be subject to a presidential veto. This happened in 2019 when Trump declared a national emergency at the Mexico border to fund the wall.
Since Trump might seek to use leftover or unspent FEMA funds to pay unemployment benefits unilaterally, it's possible that order could encounter legal challenges. If the executive action is challenged legally, that could further slow the passage of a stimulus package.
"They're being drawn by the lawyers right now," Trump said Friday during a press conference. When asked then if he was concerned about the legality of an executive action, the president said, "No, not at all ... well, you always get sued. Everything you do, you get sued."
Trump's executive action regarding the payroll tax payment deferral could also be called into question. During Saturday's press conference, Trump said that if he's re-elected in November, he'll find a way to terminate the tax.
President Trump just claimed if re-elected he may eliminate the payroll tax. He can’t do that on his own but also keep in mind that payroll taxes fund social security and Medicare.
— Ben Tracy (@benstracy) August 8, 2020
An extra complication here is the role payroll taxes play in funding other aspects of the economy -- Social Security and Medicare -- as many people have been pointing out.
How would an executive order differ from legislation?
So far, the executive actions signed by Trump will cover four topics rather than the large scope of either the Democrats' or Republicans' stimulus proposals. Democrats have said that an executive order won't do the job.
"[An executive order] will leave most people out, will not cover the broad expanse of what's needed, will be litigated in court and awkward and difficult to implement," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters on Thursday. "It's not a good choice at all. And they [Republicans] admitted that in the room. They said, 'That's not a good choice.'"
On Saturday, however, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said, "I support President Trump exploring his options to get unemployment benefits and other relief to the people who need them the most."
Democrats worry that an executive order will be only a temporary fix. For example, suspending payroll tax, according to analysts, would only mean a larger payment for workers in a few months. Schumer said Democrats' concerns extended to evictions and college loan deferrals. (More on the state of evictions here.)
For more information, we've looked at how soon you might get your second stimulus check and compared the HEALS, CARES and Heroes stimulus proposals.
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