Trump orders economic relief

President Donald Trump on Saturday took executive action to extend extra unemployment benefits, defer payroll taxes, pause student loan payments, and protect renters from eviction. He signed four executive orders enacting key provisions of a Republican economic stimulus plan the day after the White House and congressional Democrats failed to reach a deal. “This is not a perfect answer,” White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said on Friday. “But it is all that we can do and all the president can do within the confines of his executive power.”

What are the details? The executive orders defer the withholding and payment of payroll taxes from Sept. 1 to Dec. 31 for employees who make $4,000 or less every two weeks. The White House said it is exploring the elimination of the tax obligation for people who qualify, but the order does not guarantee those taxes will never come due. Trump also extended additional unemployment benefits that expired on July 31. The benefits will pay $400 a week going forward, down from the previous $600.

Dig deeper: Read Harvest Prude’s report in The Stew about the stumbling blocks in negotiations on a new stimulus bill.