A top adviser for Joe Biden says the president-elect would be willing to meet with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to get Congress to reach a deal on a second COVID-19 relief package.
When asked by Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace on whether Biden would pursue a meeting with McConnell, transition team spokeswoman Kate Bedingfield said, “Absolutely, yes.”
“It is important that Senator McConnell comes to the table, and we are very hopeful that we will be able to see progress soon on this bill because people all across the country desperately needed,” Bedingfield told Wallace.
Congress has been at a gridlock over passing a second relief bill since the summer. A meeting between Biden and McConnell would juxtapose President Trump and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s refusal to meet and negotiate the deal.
Last month, Pelosi and Trump hit a year mark of not speaking, while McConnell and Pelosi have not spoken since Election Day, according to Politico.
Biden has said he wanted to get a package passed by the lame-duck Congress within the next couple of weeks, fitting the time period after the election but before lawmakers adjourn for the year.
Biden met with Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer this week, and apparently has begun working on a COVID-19 relief package with them, according to transition team aide Jen Psaki.
“They’re in lockstep agreement that there needs to be emergency assistance and aid during the lame-duck session to help families, to help small businesses,” Psaki said, according to the Associated Press. “There’s no more room for delay, and we need to move forward as quickly as possible.”
Bedingfield added that Biden’s past experience working with McConnell might help him in his efforts to get a bipartisan agreement on a relief package.
“He and Senator McConnell have had a productive working relationship in the past, and he looks forward to meeting with Senator McConnell when that moment arrives,” Bedingfield said, adding, “He believes that we need to get a relief bill done in the lame duck. People are hurting all over the country.”
The coronavirus pandemic, which has infected more than 12 million people in the country, has left millions unemployed and underemployed. As cases spike, local and state governments have taken additional measures to ensure public health, and some have rescinded back reopenings of restaurants, bars, and other businesses to contain the spread.
