Literally No One Is Happy With Trump's Coronavirus Executive Orders
When Donald Trump bypassed Congressional coronavirus relief negotiations over the weekend, he promised that his executive orders would “take care of, pretty much, this entire situation.” Just a few days later, with states facing uncertainty and outrage brewing on Capitol Hill, it’s becoming clear that the orders, pretty much, will not be the panacea for an ailing nation he claimed they’d be.
As usual for a president fond of hyperbole, Trump greatly overstated the scope of his executive action, the highlight of which was an extension of unemployment benefits with major strings attached. His short-term fix comes nowhere near the sweeping relief necessary to address the ongoing economic devastation caused by the coronavirus. “Another support package is really incredibly important,” Chicago Federal Reserve President Charles Evans told Face the Nation Sunday, highlighting the need for a Congressional deal.
But the problem with Trump’s executive orders goes beyond his exaggerations. The action, like much of what comes out of this White House, appears legally dubious, ill-considered, and untenable for the cash-strapped states it’s meant to help. The four orders he signed at his Bedminster club on Saturday are meant to provide additional unemployment benefits; defer a payroll tax; offer vague eviction protection, and extend student loan deferments, respectively. The latter two actions seem, on their face, insufficient to deal with the full extent of the financial hardship struggling Americans are facing. The tax deferral, Joe Biden has charged, lays the foundation to gut social security. And the marquee action, the unemployment extension, has led to confusion and frustration, even among some Republican leaders. The administration is promising $400 in enhanced benefits, down from $600, $100 of which would be coughed up by the states. Where will states, already facing budget shortfalls, come up with that money? Who knows. “It’s not workable in its current form,” Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, a Democrat, told the New York Times Monday, estimating the order could cost his state $1.5 billion by year’s end. “It’s something virtually no state can afford.”
“This only makes a bad situation worse,” New York Governor Andrew Cuomo added. “When you are in a hole, stop digging. This executive order only digs the hole deeper.” The order would likely force states to enact sizable budget cuts, which local leaders warn could put further strain on both individuals and businesses. “There is no money sitting in the piggy bank,” California Governor Gavin Newsom said Monday.
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/08/literally-no-one-is-happy-with-trumps-coronavirus-executive-orders
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