Worker filings for jobless claims jumped to nearly 1 million last week, indicating rising layoffs amid a surge in Covid-19 cases, the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The U.S. lost 140,000 jobs in December and the unemployment rate was 6.7%, ending seven months of job growth and suggesting the economy is weakening,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“After the sharp contraction in March and April, the labor market quickly snapped back to life, adding a total 9.3 million jobs over the next three months. Since then, job growth has eased each month.”

“People who collected unemployment will receive smaller — or nonexistent — tax refunds this coming year because of a tax law quirk that counts unemployment as taxable income,” Axios reports.

“Tens of millions of Americans who arguably need the refund the most will wind up financially short for yet another year.”

“The House will vote on Monday on a standalone measure to increase direct payments from its coronavirus relief package to $2,000 per person, up from the $600 checks that Congress had previously approved,” Axios reports.

“If it does pass, the measure will head to the Republican-controlled Senate for a vote on Tuesday. Senate GOP leadership has signaled opposition to increasing the size of the checks.”

Aaron Blake: “The biggest takeaway here is that Trump effectively cast a spotlight on Republicans’ refusal to provide more direct coronavirus aid.”

“Getting a cranky, stubborn President Trump to belatedly sign the COVID relief bill, after unemployment benefits had already lapsed, was like being a hostage negotiator, or defusing a bomb,” Axios reports.

“The deal was closed on a Sunday afternoon phone call with Trump, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy.”

“Over many days, Mnuchin and McCarthy — aided by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who golfed with Trump in West Palm Beach on Friday — indulged the president’s rants, told him there was great stuff in the bill, and gave him ‘wins’ he could announce, even though they didn’t change the bill.”

However, said GOP pollster Frank Luntz: “It may be too late. Too late for him, too late for the economy, too late for Covid, and too late for the Georgia senators.”

“President Trump signed a bill to extend unemployment benefits and avert a government shutdown,” Axios reports.

“While Trump signed the current bill, which provides for $600 checks for most Americans, he will continue his push to bring that amount to $2,000.”

“On Christmas Eve, staff at Mar-a-Lago made preparations for President Trump to sign the Covid-19 relief package and government funding bill, a holiday gift of relief to millions of Americans suffering in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic,” CNN reports.

“But the plan was scrapped at the last minute.”

One source said that Trump had “changed his mind.”

Meanwhile, the New York Times reports Trump appeared to suggest that he would be taking action on the pandemic relief bill, writing on Twitter, “Good news on Covid Relief Bill. Information to follow!”

“Millions of Americans lost their unemployment coverage on Saturday as President Trump resisted signing a sweeping $900 billion aid package until lawmakers more than tripled the size of relief checks, putting the fate of the measure in limbo,” the New York Times reports.

“Mr. Trump’s resistance to signing the bill risks leaving millions of unemployed Americans without crucial benefits, jeopardizes other critical assistance for businesses and families set to lapse at the end of the year and raises the possibility of a government shutdown on Tuesday.”

Playbook: “Unemployment benefits have already run out. But the president, comfortably enveloped at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, seems to be growing more indignant that the rescue package deal his treasury secretary cut with Congress is insufficient. He is showing no signs whatsoever that he is going to sign it.”

“The president’s aides and allies are working to try to get him to reverse his stance, with evidently little success.”

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) called out President Trump’s response to the $900 billion COVID-10 relief bill passed in Congress last week “unbelievably cruel” in an ABC News interview.

Said Sanders: “What the president is doing right now is unbelievably cruel. Many millions of people are losing their extended unemployment benefits. They’re going to be evicted from their apartments because the eviction moratorium is ending. We are looking at a way to get the vaccine distributed to tens of millions of people. There’s money in that bill.”

President-elect Joe Biden pressed President Trump to immediately sign a COVID-19 relief bill that is stuck in limbo, blasting what he deemed Trump’s “abdication of responsibility,” The Hill reports.

Said Biden: “It is the day after Christmas, and millions of families don’t know if they’ll be able to make ends meet because of President Donald Trump’s refusal to sign an economic relief bill approved by Congress with an overwhelming and bipartisan majority. This abdication of responsibility has devastating consequences.” 

Washington Post: “Apartment tenants who have fallen behind on their rent face catastrophe at the end of the year, as Congress and President Trump have yet to approve emergency aid for renters or extend an eviction moratorium beyond Dec. 31, when it is set to expire.”

“An estimated 11.3 million households in the country are behind on rent or won’t be able to pay next month according to the Census Bureau, creating a backlog in unpaid rent estimated at $70 billion by Moody’s Analytics. Landlords have responded by filing hundreds of thousands of eviction notices at local courthouses around the country, cases that are ready to advance once moratoriums are no longer in place.”

“Expanded unemployment benefits were set to lapse for millions of struggling Americans on Saturday, a day after President Trump expressed more criticism of a $900 billion pandemic relief bill that was awaiting his signature and would extend them,” the New York Times reports.

CBS News: COVID relief bill flown to Florida, as Trump went golfing.

New York Times: “If Mr. Trump signs the bill on Saturday, states will still need time to reprogram their computer systems to account for the new law, according to Michele Evermore of the National Employment Law Project, but unemployed workers would still be able to claim the benefits.”

President Trump continued to push raising the amount of direct payments the massive Covid stimulus package should provide to Americans, but gave no indication on whether he would sign or veto the existing bill, NBC News reports.

Said Trump: “Made many calls and had meetings at Trump International in Palm Beach, Florida. Why would politicians not want to give people $2000, rather than only $600? It wasn’t their fault, it was China. Give our people the money!”

“Millions of Americans who are hours away from losing unemployment aid or the small business they have spent years building have a simple plea to President Trump and Congress: Please help us,” the Washington Post reports.

The newspaper “has been inundated with messages and phone calls from people on the verge of losing their homes and cars and going hungry this holiday who are stunned that President Trump and Congress cannot agree on another emergency aid package. Several broke down crying in phone interviews.”