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Trump Signs $900B COVID-19 Relief Bill, Continues Push Against Social Media Immunity

Shivdeep Dhaliwal
2 min read

Outgoing President Donald Trump has signed the $900 billion COVID-19 relief bill, which was passed by both the House of Representatives and the Senate with an overwhelming majority last week.

What Happened: “As President, I have told Congress that I want far less wasteful spending and more money going to the American people in the form of $2,000 checks per adult and $600 per child,” Trump said in a statement, as per White House Deputy Press Secretary Judd Deere.

"Much more money is coming," Trump said. "I will never give up my fight for the American people!”

Deere noted, on Monday, the House will vote to increase payments to individuals from $600 to $2,000 — a family of four would receive $5,200 under the proposal.

The White House official said that the Senate would also begin the process of voting on a repeal of Section 230 — which confers immunity to social media companies, such as Facebook Inc (NASDAQ: FB) and Twitter Inc (NYSE: TWTR) for content posted on them by third parties.

See Also: Trump Holds Defense Bill Hostage To Force Section 230 Repeal

The spokesperson claimed in a tweet that the House and the Senate have agreed to “focus strongly on the very substantial voter fraud which took place in the November 3 Presidential election.”

The post alluding to voter fraud was labeled as a disputed claim by Twitter.

Why It Matters: The bill hanged in the balance after Trump refused to sign it — demanding revisions, reported the Associated Press.

Bipartisan lawmakers reportedly urged the president to sign the bill as the federal government would have run out of money on Tuesday had the bill remained unsigned.

The bill sets out direct payments of $600 per adult and child and $300 per week in unemployment insurance benefits.

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