Donald Trump has continued to reject a sweeping economic package that includes $900bn in coronavirus relief, unless the legislation is amended to include $2,000 direct payments, up from $600.

If he does not sign the bill, millions of people will see coronavirus government aid come to an end, including extended unemployment insurance, which expired on 26 December. A federal moratorium on evictions expires on New Year’s Day.

The president also appeared to back the idea of lawmakers trying to overturn the results of the presidential election in Congress on 6 January, as he once against amplified unfounded claims of electoral fraud in a series of posts on Twitter the day after Christmas, which he has spent at his Mar-a-Lago residence.

A joint session of House and Senate lawmakers will meet on 6 January to count the electoral votes, which gave a 306 to 232 victory to Joe Biden. There is no path for the president to intervene.

On Saturday morning, Mr Trump tweeted: “The ‘Justice’ Department and the FBI have done nothing about the 2020 Presidential Election Voter Fraud, the biggest SCAM in our nation's history, despite overwhelming evidence. They should be ashamed. History will remember. Never give up. See everyone in D.C. on January 6th.”

Hours later, he posted a string of grievances and voter fraud conspiracies as he lashed out at the FBI, Justice Department, the media and social media platforms.

The president demanded Republican Senators to “step up and fight for the Presidency, like the Democrats would do if they had actually won. The proof is irrefutable!”

More than 6,000 Americans died from Covid-19-related illness from Christmas Eve through Saturday, surging the nation’s death toll to more than 330,000 – or one for every 1,000 people in the US.

On Saturday, the president said lockdowns in “Democrat run states are absolutely ruining the lives of so many people" while claiming Florida is “doing well” – more than 1.25 million cases have been confirmed in the state, and more than 21,000 people have died. More than 5,600 people in the state were hospitalised as of Saturday.

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Unemployment benefits set to lapse for millions of Americans

One in 1,000 Americans have died from Covid-19

Trump claims coronavirus-hit Florida ‘doing well’ as cases pass 1.25m

Trump appears to back plan to overturn election result in Congress