White House on hold with senators to garner bipartisan support for Covid-19 aid package

White House on hold with senators to garner bipartisan support for Covid-19 aid package

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Sunday’s meeting, which took place at a time when the White House is pushing for bipartisan support for the $ 1.9 trillion proposal, was described as productive, according to the person, who said members wanted more details and evidence of where money was most needed. The person said there is a desire to ensure that stimulus checks are targeted at those who need them most.

Coined the American Rescue Plan, Biden considered the proposal one of the main legislative priorities in the early days of his term. Brian Deese, director of the White House National Economic Council, hosted the convocation with up to 16 senators – eight Democrats and eight Republicans were invited.

The White House still wants to pursue the $ 1.9 trillion package as a large package, rather than dividing it, added the person on the call. This means that Democrats can ultimately choose to use the budget reconciliation process, where they can advance legislation with 51 votes in the Senate, since such a measure cannot be obstructed.

A separate source told CNN that the call was a “great” first meeting and this bipartisan group will continue to work together, discussing a way forward in another aid package. That source said that everyone agreed that the number one need is to efficiently produce and distribute a vaccine across the country.

The source also said the call lasted about an hour and 15 minutes, with White House Covid-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients and legislative affairs director Louisa Terrell also joining.

“President Biden and his advisers will continue to engage and consult with bipartisan groups of lawmakers, including today, to justify why urgent action is needed to bring aid to affected communities and families and more resources to public health officials so that we can speed up vaccines. “a White House official told CNN.

–CNN reported that Biden’s stimulus proposal already faces Republican objections, and Senate Democrats are laying the groundwork for using a rare procedural tactic known as reconciliation to approve important parts of the package if Republicans stall their efforts.

Pressed on Sunday about whether the president will resist a bipartisan agreement to approve the package amid mounting reports of Republican unrest, White House chief of staff Ron Klain said the government wants to see the proposal approved quickly, but that engaging both sides is not the “enemy” of speed.

“We are reaching people,” said Klain. “I don’t think bipartisanship and speed are enemies of each other. The need is urgent.”

Deese told reporters on Friday that the goal was “to reach members of Congress from both parties to defend the rescue plan and to engage with them (and) understand their concerns”, a mandate from Biden himself.

Among the Republican senators invited to participate in the convocation is Utah’s Mitt Romney, who told CNN’s Dana Bash in the “State of the Union” on Sunday that, while wanting to “hear what the White House has to say” about the proposal, he is concerned about the prospect of the US asking for more money “for things that may not be absolutely necessary”.
The White House wants Democrats to be patient in stimulus negotiations while Biden seeks the bipartisan path, officials say

But the senator noted that “Republicans like me have demonstrated (that) we are open to concessions” and “have shown concessions capacity”.

Responding later on the same program to comments from Senator from Utah, Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont who joins Democrats, said to Bash: “Well, I don’t know what the word commitment means. I know that working families are living today in more economic despair than since the Great Depression. And if Republicans are willing to work with us to tackle this crisis, welcome. Let’s do it. “

But Democrats, he said, cannot “wait weeks and weeks and months and months to move forward.” Sanders was not among the senators invited to the White House call, according to the CNN count.

Sanders, the next chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, expressed support for Democrats who use reconciliation to approve important parts of the aid package if Republicans step in.

“We are going to use reconciliation – that is, 50 votes in the Senate, plus the vice president – to pass legislation desperately needed by working families in this country now,” he said, ruling out the possibility that Republicans would not support the package.

CNN’s Lauren Fox, Phil Mattingly and Manu Raju contributed to this report.

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