Biden’s Path To $1.9 Trillion Stimulus Still Unclear As GOP Resists Spending

Plus: Moon Rock In, Diet Coke Button Out: Here Are The Changes Joe Biden Has Made To Oval Office Decor

TOPLINE

In his first week in office, the path of Biden’s top legislative priority—a sweeping $1.9 trillion stimulus package—is still unclear as he faces resistance from some in the GOP and begins work on bringing congressional lawmakers on board with his priorities. 

KEY FACTS

White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Wednesday that Biden will continue to meet with congressional lawmakers of both parties to discuss his ambitious spending package, and added that while Biden’s “clear preference” is to pass a bipartisan bill, “we’re also not going to take any tools off the table.”

Top Biden advisor Brian Deese, head of the National Economic Council, also has plans to meet with a bipartisan group of lawmakers in the coming days to drum up support for Biden’s $1.9 trillion plan, Bloomberg reported Thursday. 

That plan has already encountered resistance among leaders in the GOP: Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) called the plan a “non-starter” (though he did note that the plan includes some elements that Republicans back), Politico’s Burgess Everett reported; and Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) said Wednesday that he’s “not looking for a new program in the immediate future” since Congress passed a $900 billion relief bill just last month.

If the Biden administration cannot muster up enough Republican support to pass the relief plan under normal rules, Democrats can pass it through budget reconciliation rules—those only require a simple majority but that approach will likely mean Biden will need to slim down his ask to keep conservative Democrats like Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) happy. 

That could spell significant changes to the proposals Biden laid out last week, and some in the House are even considering passing an immediate deal with stimulus checks and vaccine money to get at least some relief out ahead of a follow-up package with the rest of Biden’s asks, Punchbowl News reported. 

During a press briefing Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (R-Calif.) said Democrats would work on coronavirus relief next week in committees to be “completely ready to go to the floor” when the House returns to session in the first week of February, but it isn’t clear what outcome, or what kind of relief bill, that committee work will produce. 

More Breaking News