The week
Senator Joe Manchin says he would “absolutely” oppose Biden’s stimulus checks, so he quickly takes him back after the stock tank
President-elect Joe Biden announced some economic priorities on Friday, but Senator Joe Manchin (DW.V.) promptly opened up some holes in his plans. Biden began to outline his structure for the next round of relief from COVID-19, reports The Washington Post, and said his plans include a multi-trillion-dollar package that would provide “more direct relief for families, small businesses” in part through $ 2,000 stimulus checks. But Manchin, whom Axios notes, will become an increasingly important player as a moderate in the fragile majority of Democrats in the Senate, seemed surprised by Biden’s promise. “I don’t know where the hell $ 2,000 came from. I swear to God I don’t know,” he said. “It is another $ 400 billion dollars.” Since Republicans are united in opposing bigger checks, resistance from a single Democrat could undermine Biden’s plans. He told the Post that “absolutely not” would support bigger stimulus checks for Americans, but a spokesman later seemed to back down in his resistance, insisting that Manchin “is not drawing a red line against” $ 2,000 checks, but it simply “believes that vaccine distribution should be a higher priority”, as Sahil Kapur of NBC News said. Perhaps realizing how consistent his hardline opposition to the plan can be, Manchin later tweeted to note that he was open to discussion. “If the next round of stimulus checks is launched, they should be targeted at those in need,” he wrote. Visibly, between Manchin’s initial comments and clarification, the markets seemed to perceive the potential obstacle.> Shares fell from their historic highs after a report that West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin will oppose further direct aid payments, decreasing hopes for another comprehensive bill https: //t.co/qzugAEnxpL pic.twitter.com/34WGqpsXJ3 >> – Bloomberg (@business) January 8, 2021 In addition to Manchin’s role in the announcement, Biden’s remarks about his economic plans were remarkable, as he prioritized the extension of unemployment insurance, in addition to sending billions of dollars in aid to state and local governments, which could help speed up the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine. Read more in The Washington Post. More stories from theweek.com 7 biting caricatures about Trump’s Capitol revolt Twitter permanently suspends Trump’s account New charges allegedly generated in a pro-Trump riot, including for a Republican state legislator