Trump extends US unemployment benefits

US President Donald Trump on Saturday bypassed Congress, signed executive orders deferring payroll taxes for some Americans and extending unemployment benefits after negotiations on a new coronavirus rescue package collapsed.

Trump accused Democrats of loading up their rescue bill with priorities unrelated to the coronavirus.

“We've had it,” he said at a news conference at his country club in Bedminister, New Jersey.

Trump said the payroll tax cut would apply to those earning less than 100,000 US dollars a year.

He said that if he is reelected in November, he would look at the possibility of making the payroll tax permanent.

Extra aid for the unemployed will total $400 a week, a cut from the $600 that just expired.

Trump also signed executive orders holding off student loan payments and extending the freeze on evictions.