Coronavirus News: Gov. Cuomo slams President Trump's unemployment benefit order

NEW YORK (WABC) -- President Donald Trump's executive order that states pay 25% of unemployment claims is "impossible," "laughable" and "just a chapter in the book of Washington COVID mismanagement," New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said Sunday.

Cuomo said it would cost New York State $4 billion to pay $100 of every $400 of every coronavirus unemployment benefit under the terms of the executive order. He said coronavirus has already left states with "no funding for schools."

"You can't now say to states who have no funding you have to pay 25% of the unemployment costs," the governor said. "There's no funding for schools that are trying to reopen, that according to the white house, they want them to reopen. They need legislation. It's the only way to do it. If they don't get it passed, if the president is not willing to get it passed, then it's just an additional failure in a series of failures to handle this COVID crisis. And my advice is when you are in a hole, stop digging."

Cuomo said the federal action has to be resolved.

"What the president has done has made it impossible on the state," he said. "The president by his executive order has us paying 25% of the unemployment insurance, that could cost us $4 billion. It's just an impossibility. None of this is really on the federal side. This is going to have to be resolved. I don't know if the president in genuine in thinking the executive order is a resolution or this is just a tactic in the negotiation, but this is irreconcilable for the state, and I expect this is just a chapter in the book of Washington COVID mismanagement."

Cuomo said the state health department is going over the "second supplemental plan" for school reopenings filed by the city education department and will have a status update on Monday.

RELATED: Reopen News: What Cuomo's announcement means for NYC schools

Josh Einiger reports even though Governor Cuomo has opened the door for students to return to classrooms in New York City for in-person instruction, the nation's largest school system is only planning to reopen part-time and still faces obstacles.

Cuomo also said the state had a .7% positive testing percentage, "the lowest rate since we started."

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