What were the main COVID relief bills passed under Trump?

1. CARES Act: The landmark $2.2 trillion rescue that set the template

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act — signed by President Trump in late March 2020 — was a roughly $2.2 trillion package that created the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), sent direct payments to individuals, expanded unemployment benefits, and provided funding for state and local governments and large emergency lending programs ^{[1] [2]}. Contemporary reporting and the legislative text show CARES was framed as an emergency backstop to prevent a deeper economic collapse and included oversight mechanisms such as a Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery and reporting requirements ^{[4] [1]}.

2. The Paycheck Protection Program top‑ups and related April funding

After CARES created PPP, Congress moved in April 2020 to provide additional funding to that program and to hospitals and testing efforts — often described as a supplement to the CARES framework. Wikipedia’s CARES summary and contemporaneous reporting note a subsequent Paycheck Protection Program and Healthcare Enhancement Act that added roughly $484 billion to PPP and other COVID response accounts and was signed by President Trump in April 2020 ^[2]. This was positioned as a targeted follow‑on to CARES specifically to keep payroll loans flowing and to support healthcare capacity ^[2].

3. December 2020’s Consolidated Appropriations Act: $900 billion in renewed relief

After months of negotiation, Congress combined roughly $900 billion in COVID relief with a $1.4 trillion omnibus spending bill; President Trump signed that combined package on December 27, 2020, averting a government shutdown and renewing many pandemic programs ^{[3] [5]}. That December measure restored some expired CARES provisions and provided $600 direct payments to many individuals, an additional $600 per dependent child, and a $300 weekly federal unemployment supplement — smaller than the previous $600/week under some programs but intended as a stopgap ^{[6] [7]}.

4. Political context: praise, delay and public disagreement

Although President Trump signed these bills, he publicly criticized the December package as containing waste and at one point called for larger $2,000 checks — remarks that briefly threatened enactment and generated debate over the size and scope of relief ^{[5] [8]}. Congressional leaders from both parties defended the compromise and emphasized urgency; Senate leaders in particular argued the December package delivered essential aid even if it fell short of some Democratic demands ^{[3] [7]}.

5. What these bills actually covered — and what reporting flags as missing

Reporting highlights that CARES and subsequent measures covered direct stimulus checks, expanded unemployment insurance, PPP loans to small businesses, emergency lending facilities, funding for schools and vaccine distribution, and other targeted supports ^{[1] [9]}. Coverage also notes exclusions and limits: for example, the December package did not include broad liability protections for businesses and left out sizable state and local aid that Democrats wanted ^{[9] [7]}. Available sources do not mention any other major COVID relief bills signed by President Trump beyond CARES, the PPP supplement/Healthcare Enhancement Act, and the December Consolidated Appropriations/relief package ^{[2] [3] [1]}.

6. Competing interpretations and implicit agendas

Supporters framed these laws as lifesaving emergency interventions that prevented economic collapse and preserved payrolls ^{[10] [1]}. Critics and some lawmakers argued the December compromise shortchanged vulnerable states, omitted larger payments, and included unrelated spending that diluted pandemic priorities — a critique echoed by the president’s own public statements calling elements “wasteful” ^{[8] [11]}. Observers should note institutional incentives: Congress combined relief with must‑pass spending to speed enactment, which allowed negotiators to attach many priorities beyond direct COVID response ^{[3] [12]}.

7. Bottom line for readers

If you ask “what were the main COVID relief bills passed under Trump,” the most important enacted measures in reporting are: the CARES Act (~$2.2 trillion) in March 2020, the April PPP/healthcare supplement (~$484 billion in targeted funding), and the December 2020 Consolidated Appropriations Act that included about $900 billion in COVID relief and was signed on December 27, 2020 ^{[1] [2] [3]}. Each package responded to different phases of the crisis and provoked active political debate about scope, priorities, and tradeoffs ^{[7] [8]}.