Earlier this week, federal authorities have lined up changes for the next phase of the relief bill. Some of these involved inciting elimination of certain policies in sanctuary cities, cuts to payroll and taxes, and how the stimulus checks must not be used to "rescue badly run" states.

Trump expressed his concern about states, particularly those with lenient immigration laws, who might mismanage billions of dollars' worth of relief funds. He added, "I don't think you should have sanctuary cities if they get that kind of aid."


Changes in Relief Aid

On Wednesday, he reiterated this point, clarifying that he thought the aid must be withheld until policies have changed in sanctuary cities.

This is in response to ongoing negotiations about the proceeding phase of relief provisions to states and local governments in phase 4 of the bill. This included funds that would be distributed to businesses in order to boost the economy.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that, in terms of funding, there might be two packages that would be reserved for the state and the locals.

After which, she clarified and said instead that they might require $500 billion of relief aid for state governments, and even more of that amount distributed for local authorities. She said, "We may also need a very big figure for counties and municipalities."

Mitch McConnell, the Senate Majority Leader, made an announcement last week that they were considering additional assistance to states and local governments. Nonetheless, he highlighted the importance of certain "long-standing challenges," which included pensions, healthcare, and overspending.

He repeated his point, stating that they were not interested in "rescuing badly run states" from their problems that were completely unrelated to the COVID-19 pandemic. "We are open to considering another bill."

Pelosi, on the other hand, expressed concern about different needs that required attention. She said, "Let's see what works, what is operational, and what needs other attention."

She also suggested minimum income for states and local government relief on top of the $500 billion as part of the next phase of the stimulus package.


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Sanctuary Cities Pose a Challenge to Relief Operations

Currently, the Trump administration is eyeing changes for phase 4 of stimulus checks, particularly for sanctuary cities, which limit law enforcement initiatives alongside federal immigration officials that pertain to the deportation of illegal immigrants.

The main concern of the president is how the funding for sanctuary states and cities might prioritize the needs of illegal immigrants, which may not be related at all to the pandemic.

Democrats have tried to encourage the administration to include relief for sanctuary cities, which goes against the primary requirement for receiving stimulus checks, which is a Social Security number. This is something American taxpayers are eligible for that illegal immigrants are not.

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany mentioned on Friday that the president was willing to support states amid the pandemic financially. However, she said that Trump no longer wanted to tolerate the financial mismanagement of public relief funds.

McEnany called it "bad Democratic governance" that was responsible for these states to be stuck in monetary problems.