The week
Biden’s team reportedly surprised Republicans don’t see the political benefits of backing a major COVID-19 bill
The politics of COVID-19 spending legislation is complicated. President Biden and former President Donald Trump, who disagree, have both pushed for $ 2,000 direct payments to most Americans this winter, and the Republican Governor of West Virginia backs Biden’s $ 1.9 COVID-19 aid package trillion, while its state is Democratic. Senator, Joe Manchin, is in favor of a smaller package. The White House has a private meeting with a group of Senate Republicans who have proposed an alternative package of $ 618 billion, The Associated Press reports, even as Biden and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen dismiss that amount as insufficient and urge Democrats big and go fast. Biden and his advisers “publicly praise the virtues of bipartisan partnership,” but “they are not pollyannaish about it,” Sam Stein reports to Politico. “They know there is no recent history to suggest such a collaboration is coming.”, But “within the White House, there is still a surprise that Republicans are currently no longer interested in partnering with them on COVID aid. Not because they believe Republicans, support the bill philosophically, but because there are clear political incentives to do so. ”Biden and his aides have repeatedly noted that Republicans can still vote in favor of the package just because the budget reconciliation process is Democrats would be able to pass much of the $ 1.9 trillion package without Republican backing. If Democrats go the route of budget reconciliation, the 10 Senate Republicans could “ oppose the measure without being able to stop or work on it, pledge to vote for it and get credit for the goodies in it, ” Stein reports. Put another way, Republicans could vote for a bill that would include billions of dollars in aid to states, massive amounts of cash for vaccine distribution, and a $ 1,400 incentive check for most Americans. Or they can resist it because the price tag is too high. steep, or the rise in the minimum wage is too high, or the process is made too fast. And if they do, a senior official told Stein, “they will not get credit” for those $ 1,400 checks. Democrats only have the party line option because they unexpectedly won both senate seats in a second election in Georgia, Stein notes, and A political lesson from that episode is pretty blunt: It’s better to be on the side of giving people money. ”Trump understood that. Time will tell what the Senate Republicans will decide. More stories from theweek.com Rise of the Bar Stool Conservatives At 92, Former Journalist Publishes First Book, Manchester Will Support Democrats Reconciliation Act, allowing COVID assistance to continue without GOP