Donald Trump has signed a $900 billion pandemic relief package, ending days of drama over his refusal to accept the bipartisan deal that will deliver long-sought cash to businesses and individuals and avert a federal government shutdown.
The massive bill includes $1.4 trillion to fund government agencies through to September and contains other end-of-session priorities such as an increase in food stamp benefits.
The signing on Sunday, at his private club in Florida came amid escalating criticism over his eleventh-hour demands for larger, $2,000 relief checks and scaled-back spending even though the bill had already passed the House and Senate by wide margins.
Before agreeing to the deal, senator Bernie Sanders attacked the “pathologically narcissistic” Mr Trump for his foot-dragging over the issue, which resulted in a lapse in unemployment benefits for millions struggling to make ends meet.
It came as the New York Post, a staunch supporter of the president’s, said in an editorial it was time for Mr Trump to end his “ruinous” attempts to overturn the election.
