Daily US Times: President Donald Trump has signed into law a Covid relief and spending package bill after days of speculation and tension.
The president had initially refused to sign the bill, saying he wanted to give people bigger one-off payments, but lawmakers did not agree with him and pressured him to sign it.
The delay of signing the relief and spending package into law meant that millions of Americans temporarily lost unemployment benefits.
The bill worth $900bn was approved by Congress after months of negotiation.
The relief and spending package is part of a $2.3tn spending package that includes $1.4tn for normal federal government spending.
Had President Trump not signed the bill into law by midnight on Monday, a partial government shutdown would have begun unless lawmakers passed a stopgap bill.
About 14 million people in the US faced a lapse in unemployment benefit payments and new stimulus cheques. Unemployment benefits will now be restored.
It was not immediately clear why the president – who is in Florida – finally decided to sign the bill into law. Mr Trump had been under growing pressure from both sides of Congress.
Republican Senator Pat Toomey said Mr Trump risked being remembered for “chaos, misery and erratic behaviour”.
Joe Biden warned of “devastating consequences” if Mr Trump continued to delay signing.
In a strongly worded statement published on the president-elect’s transition website on Saturday, Mr Biden described Mr Trump’s refusal to sign the bill as an “abdication of responsibility”.