With the fourth pandemic relief bill stalled in Congress, the White House is considering “unilateral action” on the part of the president to get aid to Americans in crisis.
Democrats have rejected a White House offer to extend the special $600/week unemployment benefit by one week to give lawmakers some breathing room to negotiate a much larger aid package that would include assistance to states and local governments as well as an extension of the moratorium on evictions.
But Democrats have dug in their heels about wanting all or nothing. Republicans are refusing to walk the plank and give their political opponents a $3 trillion aid bill — much of which has nothing to do with pandemic relief.
“As the negotiations continue to progress as a snail’s pace, the administration is considering a number of options that might be available without congressional legislative action,” the official told Fox News.
At this point, it is unclear what item the administration could attempt unilateral action on, but much of the negotiations on Capitol Hill have come to a stalemate with regards to unemployment benefits.
Some of the options being discussed include executive orders for a payroll tax cut and a moratorium on evictions. It’s unclear whether any executive order on taxes would pass constitutional muster, and there would probably be court challenges to any executive action that would extend a moratorium on evictions.
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