Trump's order cuts enhanced federal unemployment benefits - a lifeline for the tens of millions of Americans thrown out of work during the pandemic - from $600 to $400 per week. Democrats had been lobbying to extend the original $600 a week enhanced benefits, which expired on July 31.
Trump proposes taking most of the money from the coffers of the Federal Emergency Management Agency - $44 billion, according to the order - with 25% of the money coming from states.
It's not clear how Trump will convince state governments, whose revenues have been hard hit by the crisis, to pony up their proposed share.
Trump called the reduced payments "generous."
A PAYROLL TAX CUT
Trump's first order waives the payroll tax that funds Social Security in a bid to inject extra money directly into salaried employees' pockets. Trump has been pushing the idea for a while but it has found little support in Congress from Democrats or his fellow Republicans.
The executive order says the cut comes into effect on Sept. 1, but Trump said it "most likely" would be retroactive to Aug. 1 and translate into "bigger paychecks for working families."
EVICTIONS
Trump's order protecting homeowners and renters from evictions is unlikely to face a challenge from Democrats; indeed, House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi this week encouraged the move. But it isn't clear how it will be executed.
The order directs authorities to provide "temporary financial assistance" to renters and homeowners "struggling to meet their monthly rental or mortgage obligations."
Even Trump seemed a little hazy on the order's ultimate effects, saying "we don't want people being evicted and the act that I am signing will solve that problem - largely, hopefully, completely."
STUDENT LOANSTrump said that interest on student loan payments - frozen since March - would be suspended until the end of the year.FAR APARTNearly two weeks of talks between White House officials and congressional Democrats ended on Friday with the two sides still about $2 trillion apart.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had pushed to extend the enhanced unemployment payments, which expired at the end of July, at the previous rate of $600 as well as to provide more financial support for city and state governments hard hit by the crisis.Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Friday offered to reduce the $3.4 trillion coronavirus aid package that the House passed in May by nearly a third if Republicans would agree to more than double their $1 trillion counteroffer.White House negotiators Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Chief of Staff Mark Meadows rejected the offer.The $1 trillion package that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell unveiled late last month ran into immediate opposition from his own party, with as many as 20 of the Senate's 53 Republicans expected to oppose it.Trump did not rule out a return to negotiations with Congress."I'm not saying they're not going to come back and negotiate," he said. "Hopefully we can do something with them at a later date."Democrats have already warned that such executive orders are legally dubious and would likely be challenged in court, but a court fight could take months.Trump has managed to sidestep Congress on spending before, declaring a national emergency on the U.S.-Mexico border to shift billions of dollars from the defense budget to pay for a wall he promised during his 2016 election campaign.Congress passed legislation to stop him, but there were too few votes in the Republican-controlled Senate to override his veto - a scenario that would likely play out again with less than 90 days to go before the Nov. 3 presidential election.