Senate Republicans are expressing frustration at what they see as a great opportunity to negotiate a bipartisan COVID-19 bill with President Biden by blaming his staff for getting in the way.
Republican senators who met Biden in the White House on Monday told colleagues after the meeting that the White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain
Ron KlainBiden to announce next week’s task force on migrant family reunification The Hill’s Morning Report – Presented by Facebook – How will Democrats take with the COVID-19 bill? Biden immigration plans ran into early problems MORE stood at the back of the room shaking his head “no” throughout the meeting.
“There is certainly a mixed signal from him about the unity message,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer
Kevin John Cramer Little-known Senate referee to play big role in Biden’s contingency plan OMB nominee to be heard on Feb. 9 Trump disapproval faces big trouble in Senate MORE (RN.D.), who was briefed by colleagues about the White House meeting.
Cramer said Biden was “very involved and well prepared” for the meeting, “but I also heard his chief of staff standing in the back of the room shaking ‘no’ at every point.”
“That’s what we’ve been told,” he added.
Senior officials said GOP senators should be more focused on passing aid legislation than pointing the finger at White House advisers for not agreeing to an underfunded proposal.
And a White House official pushed back on the complaint.
“Republicans came to the rally in good faith, but it seems they would rather play the blame game than have a substantive discussion about this bill,” the official said.
Republicans were good with $ 160 billion in state and local funding back then Donald Trump
Donald Trump Chamber of Commerce CEO to Leave: Reports Fox News Media Cancels Lou Dobbs Show GOP Lawmakers Call on Pelosi to Be Fine for New Screenings MORE was president, and that number is now zero, ”the official said, referring to the proposal from the group of 10 senators.
“If they want to have a serious talk about an aid package that will help the people who need it, let’s start with how much local funding they were willing to give Donald Trump,” the source said.
Republicans who sat with Biden for more than two hours thought they had made good progress and were surprised when the White House press secretary Jen Psaki
Jen Psaki The Hill’s 12:30 Report: Senate Dems Negotiate 0.9 Trillion COVID Embossing Details CDC Says Schools Are Safe But Biden Continues To Ignore Science, Doctors Watch Live: White House Holds Press Briefing MORE immediately issued a statement curbing GOP’s expectations of a deal.
Psaki said Biden “reiterated his position that Congress must respond courageously and urgently and pointed to many areas that the Republican senators’ proposal does not address.”
She said the president had “ made it clear ” that his $ 1.9 trillion plan was “ designed to meet the demands of the moment and that any changes to it cannot leave the nation sitting with its urgent needs ” and stressed that assuming an emergency under special fiscal rules avoid a filibuster “is a path to achieving that goal.”
The statement sounded a disagreement with Republican senators.
“Over lunch we had the opportunity to talk to the members who were in the meeting, hoping we could find a two-pronged way forward. Our members who were in the meeting felt the president seemed more interested in this than his staff, ”Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell
Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnell Memo: Bad Jobs Report Boosts Incentive for Biden OVERNIGHT ENERGY: DOJ Gives Business Again to Pay for Environmental Projects to Reduce Fines | House Democrats Reintroduce Green Energy Tax Package In Marjorie Taylor Greene, A Look Into The Future MORE (R-Ky.) Told reporters after being briefed.
Biden on Friday, just days after promising to exchange memos and data with GOP senators in setting up a two-party relief deal, announced that he is ready to move forward with a COVID-19 emergency without Republican backing if they don’t want to get bigger.
“I’m going to act quickly,” he said. “I would like to do it with the support of Republicans. I’ve met Republicans. There are some really nice people out there who want to get something done, but they just aren’t willing to go as far as I think we should go. “
GOP senators on Monday proposed a $ 618 billion aid package to Biden, limiting direct payments to individuals at $ 1,000 – contrary to Biden’s preference of $ 1,400 – and no direct funding to cash strapped state and local governments was included. Biden’s plan calls for $ 350 billion in state and local aid.
Her. Shelley Moore Capito
Shelley Wellons Moore CapitoSenate Signals Widespread Support for More Targeted Coronavirus Controls Bipartisan Senator Call for More Targeted Emergency Checks OVERNIGHT ENERGY: Senate Committee Advances Granholm Nomination to Lead Energy | EPA nominee Regan pledges ‘urgency’ on climate change at confirmation hearing | Omar calls on Biden to block pipeline construction in Minnesota MORE (RW.Va.), who was in the room with Biden on Monday, said she was “a little bit” surprised by the White House staff statement because “I think the president is the one to set the tone.”
She thought Biden was interested in a deal, but lowered her expectations after White House advisers downplayed post-meeting expectations.
Her. Lisa Murkowski
Lisa Ann Murkowski Biden Should Take His Own Advice: Compromise The Hill’s Morning Report – Presented By Facebook – Democrats Mapping Path To Pass Biden’s COVID-19 Contingency Plan GOP Courts Biden Indicating He May Be Moving Without Them MORE (R-Alaska), who was also in the meeting with Biden, said it is not uncommon for principals and staffers in Washington to have conflicting intentions. She noted that Psaki was not in the room for the president’s meeting with GOP lawmakers.
“I think the staff has their opinion and I think we’ve seen the president voice his opinion,” she said. ‘It’s not unusual here. We see it. “
Murkowski said that the main negotiators usually meet in person so their staff can be briefed on how to continue the talks, but sometimes the message does not get through to the staff level.
That was the president’s first meeting in the Oval Office, the first meeting with a group of senators. Maybe they’re all still trying to figure out who’s doing what and who’s in charge, ”she added.
White House staff aside, the vast majority of Democrats on Capitol Hill are eager to get Biden’s entire $ 1.9 trillion proposal through Congress as soon as possible.
“We’re not going to make the 2009 mistake and have a too-small package that took too long and took four or five years for the economy to recover,” said Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer
Chuck Schumer More than 60 progressive groups urge Schumer to ignore filibuster Booker reintroduces account to give all newborns 000 savings accounts. (DN.Y.) told reporters this week.
Schumer kept the Senate working until 5:30 a.m. on Thursday evening and Friday to pass a budget resolution through a party line vote, laying the groundwork for moving a COVID-19 aid package under special budget rules to secure a Filibuster next month.
That would allow Democrats to adopt a major aid package without any Republican backing, although White House advisers and Democratic leaders say they will still listen to input from GOP senators welcome to join the negotiations.
Psaki said at a press conference last week that Republicans would have the opportunity to “get involved and see their ideas get adopted.”
“A two-part bill can be raised at any time in the process. So just creating the option for reconciliation with a budget resolution does not rule out other legislative options, ”she said. “This is my” when a law becomes law “moment of the briefing today.”
Psaki said Republican ideas could be adopted in the negotiations in the coming weeks, while Democratic lawmakers draft the package to come under reconciliation.
Democrats point out that several Democratic senators voted in favor of the Bush tax cuts passed by the Senate GOP majority in 2001 and 2003 with less than 60 votes as part of the budget reconciliation process.
Three Democrats voted to approve George W. Bush’s 2003 tax cut package – Sens. Evan Bayh (Ind.), Zell Miller (Ga.) And Ben Nelson (Neb.) – under budget reconciliation, while 12 Democrats voted for Bush’s 2001 tax cut, which Republicans also hired using budget reconciliation.
Of the Democrats who supported Bush’s $ 1.35 trillion tax cut in 2001, only sen was. Dianne Feinstein
Dianne Emiel Feinstein Reports of unemployment fraud increase as states send in tax forms Harris casts first tie-breaking votes, while officials from Vice President Bush, Obama era urge Senate to quickly confirm Biden’s DHS choice (California) is still in the Senate.
Psaki said this week that Republicans would have the option to table amendments during the debate on the budget resolution, which took place Thursday evening and early Friday, as well as at later stages of the process.
Senate Republicans were able to add a few amendments to the budget resolution.
But the Democrats later dropped three – one that prevented controls from going to undocumented immigrants, a second that expressed support for fracking and a third that expressed support for the Keystone XL pipeline – in a final replacement amendment that passed along strict party lines. went.